Xmen
by Beautiful Storm Munroe
Summary: Same thing as X-3.
1. Prologue

The eight-year-old hid in the drain outside the garden of a mansion. She was not going back to that orphanage she had worked so hard to escape from, but she really needed a place to hide after watching her sister get killed by a large animal-like mutant.

Suddenly, the drain was opened from the side, and the young girl scooted as far back as possible.

"Professor!" an accented voice called. The person in front of her was a male, and for some reason he wore rubies over his eyes. "We've found her," the accented voice continued. "She's hiding in the garden."

"Good," she heard someone say on the other line of some sort of communicator. "Bring her inside so that I can talk to her."

"That could be a problem, Professor," Rubies said.

"Why?"

"She's all the way in the back of the drain. Doesn't look like she's willing to come out."

There was a sigh. "Do what you must; but don't harm her in any way. She's been through enough trauma as it is, and I don't want to cause her any more."

_Like you would know, _The girl thought.

"Okay sweetheart," Rubies said, "time to come out."

The girl just sat there and shook her head.

Rubies sighed exasperatedly. There was a slight glow to the rubies, and she was fascinated by it. Until she heard his next few words. "Alright, I guess we do this the hard way, then." He reached in and tried to grab her.

"Scott, don't!"

But it was too late. Flames already started coming from the girl's hand. Scott had to lunge backwards to move out of the way, but some of the flames still got him. The female, a tall beautiful black woman with white hair, knelt down to take his spot.

"Hey," she said soothingly. "Hey, it's okay, we're not going to hurt you."

"Liar!" the girl screamed as more flames came out.

The flames never reached the woman. They stopped a few feet from her, as a spontaneous wind had come out fo nowhere and held them at bay. "Please, calm down."

"Forget it, Storm," Scott said.

_Storm, _the girl thought. _So that's her name._ She thought it really suited her, thanks to the shock of white hair.

But, she was still curious about the rubies on Scott's eyes.

X

Storm noticed the girl staring at Scott. Not angrily, but... curiously. She realized that the young girl was staring at his visor, directly at the rubies. An idea struck. With another large gust, the flames went away.

"Scott, watch her for a moment. Just make sure she doesn't get away again; I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"You'll see in a moment. Just watch her."

X

Scott sighed as he looked at the girl again. She returned the gaze defiantly. If he so much as tried to reach for her again, he was going to regret it big time.

Storm returned a moment later. "Hey, I noticed you were looking at Scott's visor. What is it that you like about it?"

The girl looked away. "Is it the rubies?" Storm pressed gently. The girl looked up sharply, surprised that she would guess so quickly, then tentatively nodded.

"Well, I'll tell you what, I don't ususally do this, but, if you come out, I'll let you wear this for a bit, okay?" Scott looked at Storm incredulously. "Trust me," she said, more to him than the girl.

The girl hesitated at first, but then came out. Storm allowed her to take the ruby pendant and then they started for the mansion. "What is it that you like about the rubies?" Storm asked the girl.

"It's my birthstone."

They walked in silence for another minute. "What's your name?"

"Ashley."


	2. Rogue

**A/N: Okay, guys, I got a review about this story, and I'm sorry to deceive you guys. It's going to be an original, but it's still a work in progress (sorry I'm a quitter, not trying to steal your work.) Person who wrote Trouble with weather saved me a little time, but obviously not enough considering I have to edit over 70% of it! I'm running out of room in my DM, so bear with me, and it will become original. (In case no one's noticed, Hawk IS NOT in Trouble with Weather, AND if anyone has read my What if's and Between the scenes, they are also in here.) Same thing's for my X-3. **

Rogue jumped out of the trucker's truck and looked at the building behind her, then at the trucker. "I thought you were going to take me as far as laughlin city?"

"This is Laughlin city," the trucker replied.

X

Rogue walked in and saw the cage fight. She turned away and went to the bar.

"Gentlemen, in all my years, I've never seen anything like it," the announcer shouted excitedly.

"Are you going to let _this_ man walk away with _your_ money?"

Someone stood up. "I'll fight him!" The cheers of encouragement were overwhelming, but Logan simply rolled his eyes. _Like the ego boost will do you any good, bub._ He downed a double shot of whiskey as the man's lumbering steps signaled his arrival to the cage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our savior!"

More cheers answered the announcer's declaration. It was loud enough that the man could lower his voice so that only the new fighter – and Logan – could hear. Covering the microphone, the announcer spoke normally, the energy and enthusiasm in his voice gone completely. He spoke as though he was offering a dying man a few last words of wisdom. "Whatever you do, don't hit him in the balls."

"You said anything goes," the fighter protested. _He's practically whining,_ Logan thought as the respect he might have had for the human evaporated.

"Anything goes, but he'll take it personal," the announcer warned.

The announcer stepped out of the cage and with three short rings the fight began. The fighter kicked him in the lower half of his back, and the fighter let the blow knock him to the side. The man didn't wait half a second before punching him in the face once, and then twice. The punches didn't hurt, per se, but they weren't light caresses either. The fighter was slouched down, almost on his hands and knees when the man kicked him in the abs, and then kicked him in the groin. _Hard. _The smug chuckle he heard was enough evidence to prove that he had done it intentionally.

The fighter heard the men around him groan, and was sure that a few of them were clutching themselves in pain, just as he was.

His opponent stepped back, chuckling more as he listened to the crowd cheer him on. The man charged at him and Logan got up on one knee, balling his hand into a fist and throwing a punch. Their fists collided and he heard a faint ring echo in his ears above the chaos, as well as the soft cracking of bones in the other man's hand. Had any of the humans possessed hearing as acute as Logan's, they'd probably have found the sound sickening. Logan, at the moment, was rather fond of the sound.

The fighter cried out in surprise and clutched his hand, shock and confusion clear in his eyes. It was certainly broken, and his probably would have smirked if he wasn't so ticked. He stood up fully and punched the man across the face, and another faint ring confirmed that the fighter would probably have a concussion. Still, the fighter watched the man stagger back with no pity. Jerking his head to the side, he cracked his neck before head butting the man as he tried to stagger forward, knocking him out completely.

The fighter flexed his neck again, breathing slowly and resisting the urge to continue his beating. Unlike _some people, _he knew when enough was enough. The guy would certainly be embarrassed when he woke up, and stooping to his level didn't interest Logan one bit. The bell rang three times and the crowd booed him loudly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight's winner – and _still_ king of the cage – the Wolverine!"

Shrugging off the crowd's dismay at his victory, Wolverine kicked the man in the ribs before returning to his corner and finishing off his cigar.

X

Wolverine walked in slowly and inhaled, identifying everything and everyone by scent and sound. Two men were still over by the cage, sweeping, from the sound of it. The bar owner and his wife were sitting at a table, drinking and counting money. A passed out drunk was snoring on the couch, the bartender was wiping glasses clean, and a young teenager was sitting at the bar in absolute silence.

"You want something new, honey," he heard the bartender ask. "Or are you sticking with water?" Logan heard something slide across the bar, probably the tip jar being pushed out of her reach. Logan snorted quietly. There couldn't be more than twenty-five dollars in there; hardly anything to be overly protective of.

Wolverine rounded one of the pillars and sat at the bar. "I'll have a beer," he said, popping a cigar in his mouth and digging through his pockets for cash.

He felt the girl's eyes on him, and he glared up at her, waiting for her to look away. Her expression wasn't fearful, it was curious. _That's a first, _he thought, his glare still firmly in place. She finally took the hint and looked away. Though her reaction to him made him just as curious about her, he decided that he didn't care. _I'm going to have a beer, a smoke, and move on to the next town,_ he thought, peeling a five out of the wad and tossing it on the bar counter.

The bartender had the news on in the background, and Wolverine focused on listening to it, despite the fact that it was the same old crap that the U.S. had been talking about for months. It was better than wondering about the brat across the bar and what her overly sweet scent reminded him of.

"Ellis island, once the arrival point for hundreds of thousands of American immigrants, is opening its doors again," the newscaster said. "Preparations are nearly completed for the upcoming United Nations World Summit. With nearly every invitation confirmed, the event promises to be the largest single gathering of world leaders in history."

The bartender took Wolverine's money, set his change on the counter in front of him, and gave Wolverine his beer. He took another long drag from his cigar before taking a swig of his beer, savoring the taste. He was perfectly content with a fresh cigar and a cold beer any day of the week._  
><em>

"The leaders of over two hundred nations will discuss issues ranging from the world's economic climate and weapons treaties, to the mutant phenomenon and its impact on our world stage."

Out of the corner of his eye, Wolverine could see that the girl was still glancing at him, but she visibly stiffened at the word 'mutant' and began paying close attention to the news. Wolverine idly wondered if she knew that he was a mutant, but decided, once again, that he needn't bother caring. If she were a smart girl, then she'd be right to fear him. Then again, a smart girl of her age wouldn't be out by herself so late at night in the first place.

Trying not to cringe at his unnecessary concern for the girl, Wolverine turned his attention back to the news. "Many American legislators have contended that debate over mutant issues should be the primary focus of what is, on the surface, a strictly diplomatic affair."

Wolverine frowned thoughtfully. It seemed that the humans were more concerned about mutants than he'd realized, if they had to call world leaders in to discuss the topic.

He listened for more, but picked up the scent of the sober man he'd knocked out earlier. The smell was now mixed with cheap vodka and beer, much to his annoyance. _Excellent._

"You owe me some money," Cheap Shot said, his voice surprisingly clear considering the amount of alcohol on his breath. A nervous man stood behind him. He smelled a little drunk too, but not nearly as intoxicated as the first.

"Come on, Stu," his friend said, trying in vain to sound calm. "Let's not do this." Wolverine heard the man shivering, and could guess that it was from more than the cold. A quiet sniff confirmed his suspicion; he reeked of fear.

Stu, as his friend had called him, shrugged the terrified man off. "No man takes a beating like that without a mark to show for it," he snapped at Wolverine.

Wolverine rolled his eyes and tried to block out the loser, focusing on his cigar. He wasn't in the mood to fight anymore. Not for fun, anyways. He wanted to enjoy his beer and get the hell out of this town.

"Come on, buddy," his friend begged. "This isn't going to be worth it."

Stu shoved his friend back and got close enough to whisper in Wolverine's ear. "I know what you are."

His temper was rapidly rising, his clear vision already beginning to turn pink. "You lost your money," Wolverine growled back. "Keep this up and you'll lose something else."

"Come on, buddy," his friend said, trying to pull him back. Wisely, Stu took a few steps back, and he felt the tension in the air deteriorate. But only for a second; Logan heard the distinct _chink_ that a blade made when unsheathed. Every pulse in the bar spiked.

"Look out!" the girl shrieked.

Wolverine stood and knocked the knife away with ease. He grabbed Stu by his shirt and shoved him against the pillar, pushing his two outer claws out around Stu's throat. His middle claw slid out of his knuckles slowly, touching his Adam's apple with a deadly care. Though Stu tried to appear calm and in control, Logan felt his unsteady pulse and his breath coming up short. And the fear in the air from him alone nearly made Logan choke.

He was seriously considering breaking Stu in half, but the smell of gunpowder halted him. A second later, he heard the bartender cock what sounded like a rifle and felt it press lightly against his ear. He turned his head only a little, eying the barrel distastefully.

"Get out of my bar, freak," the bartender whispered, eyes wide and fearful.

Wolverine slowly turned back to Stu, trying to count to ten.

Faster than any of their eyes could possibly follow, Wolverine pushed his claws out of his other hand and reached behind him, slicing the rifle in half and spilling gun powder everywhere. He poised his claws upwards at the other man's throat, and a low growl escaped him as he looked back and forth between the bartender and Stu. The sound of their combined breathing and irregular heartbeats was nearly as thunderous. The noise was so loud that it blended together, but one pulse in particular was pumping faster than all the rest, and he didn't have to look in her direction to know who it was. Nevertheless, he turned to face the girl. Her eyes were impossibly wide and she was barely breathing. Her fear smelled nearly as sweet as she did, but it was unmistakably fear. She couldn't have looked more frightened if his claws had been pointed at her own throat.

Internally grumbling at having frightened the girl, he sheathed his claws slowly, and felt the men around him relax as he lowered his arms. The girl's heartbeat, however, refused to slow down, despite her attempt to look unafraid.

Wolverine – merciful man that he was – was letting them live by choice, and looking around at the angry faces, it was clear that they knew it too. He was also able to gauge that he was no longer welcome. He stalked out of the bar before things got too ugly in front of the young girl, and wondered why he cared at all.

He got into his truck and started the engine. It roared to life without protest and Wolverine sat for a second, trying to calm his heartbeat and temper after the adrenaline rush. He glanced at his knuckles and rubbed at them absently.

X

He felt the trailer behind him shift and looked behind him. It was the third time he'd felt it do that since he'd left the bar, and the wind wasn't nearly strong enough for that kind of movement. In fact, the air outside was rather still…

He slowed the truck to a stop in the middle of the road and got out. He had a hunch as to what it might be, but he'd never know for sure unless he got out and looked for himself. Arriving at the trailer, he inhaled. Clean air, but that didn't necessarily mean that she wasn't there. If she'd covered herself with the tarp, her scent would have disappeared miles ago. It would be under the cover.

He idly wondered if he was just being paranoid, but then he heard another shift and a rising pulse. He leaned over the trailer and poked, causing another shift. Rolling his eyes, he threw the cover off of the girl and her insanely sweet scent hit him. He'd had a hard time identifying it in the bar, but now that her scent wasn't mingled with smoke and alcohol, he noted that her smell was comparable to peppermint. _As if it matters._

She lay perfectly still for a moment, possibly wondering if he saw her. Realizing that she was caught, though, she tried to sit up. She looked groggy, like she had been sleeping, or at least trying to. Considering the frigid air, the uncomfortable position she'd been in, and the hard surface of the trailer, she would have to be _very _tired to fall asleep. _Not my problem._

"What the hell are you doing?" Logan demanded.

"I'm sorry," she muttered in a heavy southern accent, squeezing her eyes shut against the harsh light. "I needed a ride… thought you might help me…"

"Get out."

She stared up at him, and he reached down and grabbed her bag, throwing it out for emphasis. "Where am I supposed to go?" she asked tiredly

"I don't know."

"You don't know, or you don't care?"

"Pick one," he snapped. She jumped out and Wolverine made his way back to the cab of his truck as she stared at him. He felt her heartbeat quicken. "I saved your life," she tried.

"No you didn't." He slammed the door of the truck and put it in drive.

He glanced in the side mirror as her figure grew smaller, but saw that she hadn't moved an inch. "At least get off the road," he muttered, trying to stare ahead and pay no attention to her.

He made it three seconds before he had to look back again. Where _could_ she go? The last town was at least fifty miles behind them, and he had no clue how far it was to the next town. And he didn't need a thermometer to tell him that her frail hide would probably freeze before she made it a mile in either direction. Hell, he'd been a little cold himself, and he had pretty thick skin.

He squeezed his eyes shut in annoyance before slowing down the truck and throwing it into park. "Thirty seconds, kid," he muttered under his breath. "I can't wait forever." Not five seconds later, he heard the faint slap of her shoes against the snow, as though she had heard his threat.

She climbed in without a word and Wolverine began driving without a word. "You don't have anything to eat, do you?"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he popped the cigar he'd been smoking into his mouth and reached into the glove compartment for the last of his beef jerky. He tossed it into her lap without looking at her. It was only a matter of time before she expected some kind of response from him, but he'd do his part to prolong the silence as long as he could.

She tore off her gloves as quickly as possible and ate more than half the packet in two large bites, hardly slowing down to chew. Wolverine glanced at her with a raised brow. Grown men didn't eat like that. How long had she gone without a meal? He briefly remembered her half empty cup of water at the bar and almost wished he had something else for her to eat.

She pulled her hood down and Logan had a clear view of her face for the first time, though he chose to discreetly glance at her out of the corner of his eye. She didn't look terribly thin, nor did she look overly exhausted or famished. His pity ebbed away. She'd survive until they reached the next town.

"I'm Rogue."

Logan took a drag of his cigar and said nothing. Perhaps if he simply didn't participate, she'd give up and stay silent. He hoped. It certainly worked on drunken women at bars that were trying to hit on him. But this girl was neither drunk nor hitting on him, and for this reason, Logan got the feeling that the silent treatment _really _wouldn't work on her. She seemed oddly unafraid of him.

She leaned forward, and Logan kept his eyes on the road, assuming that she was trying to get a better look at his face. "Were you in the Army?" she asked, nodding to his dog tag. "Doesn't that mean you were in the Army?"

He glanced down and tucked the dog tag inside of his shirt. Even if he _did_ know her well enough to talk to her, he wouldn't know what to say to that. Logan had no idea if he had been in the Army. He could have been. Or maybe in the Navy or the Air Force or maybe he had been a Marine. He'd always had it with him. He didn't know what it meant, but he _knew _that it was his. It was a small connection to the past he couldn't remember, and he'd keep it as long as he needed to.

The girl – Rogue – obviously didn't know any of that. She'd asked a simple enough question, but if he was lucky, she'd take the hint and drop the subject. Maybe even stop talking altogether, he hoped for the third time.

Rogue looked away, but was unable to stay still for long. She suddenly looked behind her, no doubt eying the messy space where he had lived for the better part of five years. "Wow."

"What?" he finally snapped, annoyed that she'd gotten him to talk.

She straightened up and looked him square in the eye, voice steady and confident as though she was stating a fact. "Suddenly my life doesn't look that bad."

His grip on the wheel tightened involuntarily. "Look, if you'd prefer the road – " he said, slowing down as he spoke.

"No, no! It looks great," she said hurriedly. "Looks cozy."

Logan glared at her and she quickly looked away, her cheeks turning pink and her heart beating a little faster. He concentrated on the road and tried, for what felt like the hundredth time that day, to pay no attention to her. She was just a girl, and a runaway at that. She probably wasn't used to watching her mouth. Or perhaps she was like him and just didn't care.

She shoved one last piece of jerky in her mouth and began rubbing her hands together. The faint sound of her skin rubbing together and her slight shivering became unbearably loud in the quiet cabin. More than _anything_, he wanted to ignore the sound.

The sound got to him after only a few seconds. He tried not to growl as he flicked on the heat switch and reached for her hands. "Put your hands on the heater."

She flinched away from him, and her pulse spiked as though she'd been shocked. He frowned down at her. If she was so afraid of him, then why the hell had she hitched a ride with him so willingly? "I'm not going to hurt you, kid," he insisted, placing his hands back on the wheel all the same.

"It's nothing personal," she said darkly. "It's just that... When people touch my skin, something… happens." As quickly as she had torn the gloves off, she fumbled to put them back on.

She offered no further explanation, but she had peaked Logan's curiosity. "What happens?"

"I don't know. They just get hurt." She looked at him, her eyes flickering to his knuckles.

"Fair enough." It didn't really matter to him. As soon as he hit the next town, he'd kick her out and never have to see her again. He could forget that he'd ever smelled her odd, peppermint scent, he could forget that he'd ever seen her wide eyed fear of him, and he could forget that he'd given the ungrateful teenager a ride.

"When they come out," she said, now outright staring at his hands, "does it hurt?"

His gaze traveled down to his hands for a fraction of a second before he returned his eyes to the road, not wanting to be reminded of the animal most people thought that he was.

"Every time," he said gruffly, putting an end to that topic.

Perhaps it wouldn't hurt him as much if he did it more often, but he rarely had need of his claws, accept for special situations, like today in the bar. The last time he had pushed them out was three weeks ago, and before that, it had been two months. Though it was easy enough to brush off what people said about his claws, it wasn't as easy to be reminded of it every time he unsheathed them. He tried not to do it unless it was absolutely necessary.

Rogue shifted uncomfortably, looking almost sorry that she had asked. Logan could now be sure that she would keep her mouth shut for the rest of the drive, but he couldn't help feeling disappointed about that.

Maybe she wasn't the picture of politeness, but neither was he. And he certainly wasn't helping by being so cold. "So," he began, "what kind of a name is Rogue?"

"I don't know," she said quietly, turning back to him. "What kind of a name is Wolverine?"

"My name's Logan."

She seemed satisfied. "Marie."

Logan and Marie had been sitting in companionable silence for twenty minutes, and there wasn't a town in sight. As rude as she'd initially been, Logan was glad he hadn't left Marie to fend for herself on the road. As lost as she'd looked when he'd thrown her bag out of the trailer, she'd probably be standing in the exact same spot.

He rounded a corner a little too sharply for her taste and she inhaled sharply. "You know, you really should wear your seat belt."

What would a seat belt do if they spun out of control and went over a cliff? It sure as hell wouldn't help, not that he'd need any protection anyhow. And besides, he'd been driving in weather like this for many years without incident.

What interested him was the fact that she'd suggested wearing a seat belt rather than slowing down. Still, he knew what he was doing on icy pavement, and he didn't need her to comment on his driving skills. "Look, kid," he said, turning to her. "I don't need advice on auto safety from – "

Out of nowhere, a tree fell right in the middle of the road. Having no time to stop or even slow down, Logan's truck slammed into the tree at fifty miles per hour. Logan flew out of his seat and through the windshield like a rag doll, falling head first into the snow and skidding to a stop about forty-five feet ahead of the truck.

Still conscious, he laid perfectly still, picking out where he was damaged and concentrating on holding his breath to keep the pain at bay. He was certainly bleeding internally. A deflated lung, his kidneys felt bruised, and _something _was slicing into his intestines. Those were all the injuries he could feel, so God only knew what the hell else was broken.

All of his internal injuries healed first, and he blessed his healing mutation as the sharp stabs of pain turned into dull throbs. No broken bones, as usual, but he realized that his right shoulder and hip had been dislocated. Those were minor injuries, however, and he was able to move without unbearable pain. A quick, rough twist and they both popped back into place.

Marie, however, didn't have his talent for withstanding injuries that serious, as far as he knew. He'd have to get back to the truck to check on her.

He slowly pushed himself up off of the ground, staggering as he tried to balance on his unsteady legs. He felt heat on his forehead, and could only assume that he'd gotten a nasty gash there as well. He was thankful that he didn't really feel whatever it was as he tried walking, concentrating on one foot in front of the other. His truck looked more or less totaled, but that didn't matter. He had won the piece of crap in a poker game five years ago. The condition of the cargo worried him more.

Perhaps the seat belt would have been a good idea. It had certainly kept her from flying out with him. He listened hard and smelled the air for her blood, but only picked up the faint smell of gasoline. She was breathing heavily, but her pulse was strong, and he didn't smell any of her blood. She appeared to be alright.

As he came closer, his footsteps became less wobbly, and he was finally able to focus his energy on healing his head injury. He cracked his neck to both sides and felt the gash close completely. He looked up at Marie and saw her staring at him, a mixture of astonishment and relief on her face.

"You all right?" Like a deer in the headlights, she continued staring at him. Logan raised his voice, hoping that she wasn't in shock. "Kid, are you all right?"

"I'm stuck!" she shouted, an edge of panic in her voice. Logan wiped the blood off of his forehead and made is way around the tree trunk to help Marie. Maybe the seat belt had saved her from being thrown out, but it had trapped her in the truck, which would probably start fire in a minute or two if it hadn't already.

Logan caught sight of the tree trunk and stiffened. It was thick, healthy, and showed no signs of rotting, yet it had just fallen to the ground right in front of them. It made no logical sense, until Logan thought he heard a very faint rustling in the cover of the trees.

Marie and his truck forgotten, he was instantly on the alert. He sniffed the air, trying to pick up a scent, any scent. He didn't know what it was, but he was sure that he was being watched, and he knew that it was a predator.

His claws jumped out of his knuckles for the second time that day, and though he still felt the familiar pain, it wasn't as intense. He turned his head a few times, trying to pinpoint the location of this hunter in the whirl of snow around him, which seemed to be getting stronger every second. A moment too late, he heard a growl and was tackled by a mass of solid muscle. He hit the ground hard and before he could scramble to his feet, the creature picked him up and threw him a good twelve feet into the air. Logan's back made contact with a birch tree, snapping it, and probably his spine, in half.

He tumbled down into the snow, and tried to block out the fire that raced up and down his back as he crawled on all fours and tried to get up. The creature – for it was much too hairy and fearsome to be considered a person – was in front of him, holding a heavy, ten foot log like a baseball bat. _Aww, shi-_

Before Logan could even finish the thought, the beast swung it around with ease and hit Logan square in the face, sending him flying back onto the hood of the car. He hardly had the strength to breathe, and his claws retracted without his permission. He lay perfectly still, feeling the blackness of unconsciousness trying to claim him. It was a familiar feeling, but he wasn't entirely sure if he could fight it off this time. He knew he just had to lie still for a while longer and then he'd heal…


	3. 3 mutants  2 a crowded explosion

Storm shifted awkwardly in the X-men jets seat, trying to get comfortable. Beside her in the pilot's seat, Cyclops dozed lightly, his visor strapped firmly to his face. The last two hours had dragged inexorably past, the white snow around them falling hard, covering everything. On the tracking monitor, Sabretooth, was still a half mile away, stopped.

Waiting. They had no idea for what, but he was clearly waiting. And so were they.

Sabretooth was a mutant whose abilities had manifested themselves as animal strength, speed, sight, and smell. From what Storm had learned in their pre-mission briefing, Sabretooth had been helping Magneto. Why out here into the Canadian wilderness was anyone's guess. He certainly hadn't bothered to tell them, if he even knew.

But Storm didn't know a lot about the relationship between the Professor and Magneto. All she had gleaned was that they seemed to be old friends, fighting in different ways, for the same cause.

Storm and Cyclops had just been told to trail Sabretooth until something happened. They would know when it did, the professor had said.

She certainly hoped so.

Storm glanced at the raging blizzard falling around the jet. She could see the nearby outline of a highway and the snow-covered trees and rocks. She could stop the snow around them if she wanted. But, at the moment, she didn't mind it at all. It was soothing, almost relaxing. She had a feeling about weather, could touch it, and almost any type of weather was good as far as she was concerned.

The snowstorm was certainly a far cry from the arid heat of her native Kenya. The first time she'd ever seen snow there was the day she had caused it.

The day the other kids of her village had tortured her.

The day she had come into her powers.

Thank heavens Professor Xavier had found her, or there would have been no telling what her people would have doe to her after she had destroyed their village. She certainly had no idea what to do with herself at that point.

No mutant did, when first coming into his or her powers. There was no way any of them could. It was something completely unexpected, and in this world that feared mutants, certainly none of them had been trained to cope.

Until now. She had been lucky. The Professor had found her, and offered the training and education she had needed. She knew there thousands of others out there who weren't getting the breaks she had received. She was determined to help them, at least as much as she could.

This brought her to thinking about a certain twelve year old that was back at the mansion.

The sound of a loud crash echoed through the trees, disturbing her thoughts and waking Cyclops from his light sleep. He glanced at her, his powerful,energy gaze contained and controlled by the visor covering his eyes.

"What was that?"

"Darned if I know," Storm replied.

They both studied the scope. Two other blips were now stopped where their subject was located, just down the highway. "Seems Sabretooth found a way to stop traffic."

Cyclops laughed. "What traffic? We haven't seen a car for hours."

"Let's go," Storm said.

As they climbed out of the jet, she created a warm breeze around them that held most of the snow back. Better they face whatever was going on fresh and dry and ready to fight.

Within a few seconds they were headed at a fast walk up the road, her breeze and their form-fitting uniforms keeping them warm and comfortable, despite the subzero temperatures of the Canadian forest.

It wasn't long until they saw exactly what was happening.

As they moved around a slight curve in the road, they could see where a camper had hit a downed tree, smashing the camper and scattering the contents of a trailer it had been pulling. The camper was on fire, with one person trapped on the inside, on the passenger side of the cab.

Sabretooth was fighting with another man, and as Storm watched, Sabretooth picked the man up and smashed him through the windshield. Judging from the force of the throw, that person was going to be lucky to be alive.

But it was clear the girl in the camper was still alive, and she was struggling to get out- clearly trapped. And now she had dead weight on top of her.

Side by side, Storm and Cyclops moved up and stood twenty paces behind hulking mutant started toward the camper. Storm caused the snow to billow around her, then made the wind push it out, as if creating a blizzard.

Sabretooth turned, then growled with a low, mean rumble, like an angry animal. He even looked like one, with the skins and yellow hair.

"Seems we aren't welcome company," Cyclops said.

Storm stepped aside as Cyclops let out a ruby beam from his eyes. It struck close to Sabretooth. Sabretooth was shot into the trees and wasn't seen again.

Storm nodded. Their foe wasn't going to be coming back any time soon.

The only sound now was the crackling fire in the camper. Storm and Cyclops ran over to the passenger side, Storm seeing instantly that the intense flames were almost to the camper's propane tank. She kicked up a swirling wind filled with snow and rain to douse the fire, but it wasn't going to work quickly enough. The flames were just too close to the tank and too hot to be put out easily. Storm focused as hard as she could on the fire, but te propane was going to explode, and soon. There wasn't anything she could do about it.

"Cyclops!" Storm said. "Hurry!"

Cyclops lowered the power on his visor and shot it into the seat restrainer. The girl was flung back. Cyclops moved out of the way, and Storm stepped forward. She didn't force the girl out of the vehicle, just held out her hand, a sign that the girl had a choice whether or not to trust them. Storm knew from experience that to force someone to do something was one way to make them fear you, and she didn't want that.

After a split second of hesitation, the girl grabbed Storm's hand and jumped out of the vehicle. All three jumped over the fallen trunk and Scott grabbed the unconscious man free.

Suddenly, Storm heard the valve on the propane tank blow off.

It was now or never.

They all rushed forward as the fire spread and headed for the propane tank.

She brought up a massive wind behind them, forcing it low and hard along the passenger side of the camper. The wind caught her, Cyclops, the girl, and the unconscious man and slid them all down the road of the slick surface, as if they were sliding down a ski slope. The unconscious guy rolled like a limp doll. If he wasn't already dead, this hadn't done him any good at all. But Storm hadn't had a choice.

They were out a few yards away from the trailer when it exploded. The girl screamed as they dove- Storm more or less pushing the girl forward and covering her with her cape- from the force of the explosion. Flames and debris were sent into the air, lighting the falling snow with bright orange and yellow colors.

When it was over, Storm got up and helped the terrified girl, as Cyclops also got up. They stared at the flames. Then the girl said softly, "Thank you."

Storm turned to her."Are you alright?" she asked gently.

The girl nodded shakily, and looked at the mutant. "Uh... Storm," Scott called behind her. "This guy weighs a ton. Do you want to help me?"

Storm shook her head teasingly. "You can last five minutes out here while I get the jet, right?"

"Sure, but hurry. It's freezing out here."

Storm smiled mischievously. "Maybe I'll keep you out here until I go and drop off the girl at the mansion."

Scott scowled as Storm laughed. She turned to the girl and offered her hand again. "Trust me?"

The girl was hesitant at first, but then nodded and took her hand. Storm felt the girl tense as she saw her eyes go from brown to white, but she still held on to her. Storm gave her a reassuring squeeze before taking off. The girl gasped as she was lifted up into the air. She held on tightly to Storm until they landed a few minutes later. Storm walked to the jet and unlocked it, lowered the ramp and walked inside. The girl followed a moment later hesitantly, then took a seat behind the co-pilot's while Storm took the pilot's seat. "What's your name?" Storm asked starting the pre-flight settings.

"Rogue," the girl replied.

"Well, Rogue," Storm said, pausing for a moment to turn toward the girl. "Do you want to sit in the co-pilot's seat while we go and pick up your friend?"

Again, the girl was hesitant to respond. Storm didn't blame her after the experience she just had. Storm smiled and put the comlink around her ear and continued with the pre-flight settings. "Don't worry Rogue, I'm not going to hurt you."

With that Rogue got up and went into the co-pilot's seat. It was then Storm realized that Rogue was still shivering. Storm reached over to turn on the heater, then reached for Rogue's hand. "Here, she said, "Put your hand on the heater." Rogue jerked her hand back, but then complied and allowed Storm to place her hands over it. It seemed a little odd to Storm, but she didn't press. Rogue would open up when she's ready she knew.

Storm landed the jet gently, went to the ramp, and urged Scott inside. She helped Scott take the mutant to the sick bay and went to the co-pilot's seat while Scott took the pilot's seat.

The plane ride was silent on the way home. But a little surprise would be waiting for Storm.

X

Hawk walked down into the lower levels as the X-jet flew in over head. She had wanted to go on that trip so badly, but no one under the age of thirteen was allowed to go on missions. Which she was just a few months shy of.

The doors to the hangar opened, and Storm, Cyclops, and a girl she had never seen before came.

"Storm!" Hawk called, rushing forward to give the older woman a hug.

Storm gladly received it. "Using your telepathy again, I see," Storm said mockingly.

"Well, I know as well you do how dangerous you-know-who can be."

Storm rolled her eyes at Hawk's excuse. They broke off and Hawk turned to the other girl, who couldn't have been any more than four years older than her. Five maximum. "Who's this?" Hawk asked.

"This is Rogue," Storm replied as Scott went to say hi to his girlfriend who had just walked in with the Professor.

"Hi," Hawk said to Rogue. "I'm Hawk. Are you a new student?"

Rogue looked at Storm. "Possibly," Storm answered. "We're going to discuss it with the Professor. Why don't you show Rogue around? I'm sure she would like to meet your pets."

Hawk beamed at the thought. "Okay. C'mon, Rogue, I'll show you Storm first."

Rogue looked at her quizzically.

"Midnight Storm," Hawk clarified. "My horse."

Rogue nodded then followed her.


	4. Chapter 3

Logan slowly came back to consciousness, like a swimmer twenty feet down, stroking for the surface of a lake. The light slowly got brighter; then his hearing returned. Then his sense of smell.

He kept his eyes closed, kept his breathing paced, letting his mind clear, giving himself some time. The last thing he remembered was the ugly beast picking him up and tossing him through the window of his truck. The guy had been strong. Very strong. But in a rematch, Logan knew he would get the best of him.

Logan could tell that he was lying on his back on some sort of padded bed in a very sterile place. Some sort of hospital or lab, more than likely. And a very fresh-smelling woman was working nearby.

He let his eyes slit open just a fraction as the woman moved toward him. The room was white and filled with modern-looking equipment. A box behind her floated off a self and came to rest gently in front of her on a tray.

For a moment, he was puzzled; then he realized that she was a mutant also.

The woman opened up the box and pulled out an IV needle, then turned to him. He kept is eyes in the same position, his breathing consistent, even though her wonderful scent was overpowering.

With a gentle touch she picked up his arm, then a moment later he felt the slight prick of the needle. At least she was good at what she did.

Instantly, he reacted, sitting up and grabbing her around the throat. The needle broke in his arm, and the box was knocked to the white floor.

For an instant he was unable to think as he stared into her beautiful face. He couldn't remember ever having this kind of reaction to a woman before. But now was clearly not the time. The way he was holding her, she wouldn't be able to talk, that much was for sure.

She just stared at him, calm and collected, as if his threat meant nothing really. Or as if she was convinced he wasn't going to carry it out.

Disgusted, he let her go, shoving her backward and to the floor. He jumped off the table, realizing he was dressed in only his underwear. And there was something besides his clothes missing: His dog tags were no longer around his neck.

Logan pulled the broken needle from his arm and tossed it at the woman sitting on the floor. She just rubbed her neck and said nothing.

He turned and ran for the nearest door. The sooner he found some clothes and got out of here, the happier he was going to be.

The hallway on the other side of the door was much like the lab he'd just left- sterile, white tiled, and very quiet.

Deathly quiet.

Where the heck was he?

He ran down the hall, away from the lab, letting his full senses bring him information.

The walls were soundproof beyond anything normally done. He couldn't hear anything at all- no sounds of the people, machinery, distant traffic, nothing.

The first door he came to was open, so he went through.

It was a fairly large room, also very clean. One side of the room contained lockers, with a padded bench sitting in front of them. The other wall was full of black uniforms hanging side by side, each tagged with a strange "X" insignia.

He quickly rummaged through the lockers, coming up fairly quickly with a pair of pants and a shirt that almost fit.

Behind him in the hallway he could hear the sounds of someone's footsteps. Quickly he finished dressing and headed out another door on the far side. He had no idea how to get out of this place, but if he kept going through doors, eventually he would find the exit.

This door led to another hallway, almost exactly like the first. Logan stopped for an instant, trying to decide which way to go.

_"Where's he going?"_ someone whispered. And his decision was made for him. A door slid open with a faint ding of an elevator. With the footsteps coming across the locker room he'd just left, he dashed into the elevator and let the doors close. The elevator started upward instantly, clearly running automatically.

He got ready to attack whoever might greet him wen the elevator door opened, but as it turned out, he didn't need to. The door slid open on a very empty, very plush hallway, exactly the opposite of what he had found below.

He sniffed, taking in the sights and smells. He was clearly in an older mansion, with a large number of people living in it. This hallway was wide and stately, with a high ceiling and expensive furniture along the walls. Plush carpet softened his footsteps, and the smell of furniture polish seemed to dominate.

From down the hall to his right he could hear a voice, so he headed that way, staying to one side and moving silently.

In a moment, he could hear exactly what the voice was saying.

"So, the barometric pressure begins to drop, precipitation begins, and the air starts to move more rapidly. Now, lightning strikes occur when strong thermal updrafts cause water droplets and ice crystals to collide, creating positively and negatively charged particles."

"What the heck?" he said softly.

He moved to where the door was slightly ajar and looked through. Inside he could see a strikingly beautiful black woman with pure white hair standing in front of a dozen or so fourteen- to seventeen year old children.

Logan studied them, noting that even though they all looked basically normal, it was clear they were all mutants.

An entire class of mutants.

Where was he?

A boy in the front row raised his hand.

"Yes?" the woman with the white hair asked her student.

"Are you sure about this?" the boy asked, smiling.

"Don't temp me to demonstrate," she said, shaking her head with a hint of amusement. Then she turned back to the board.

A girl in the back row seemed to slump her shoulders a little, as if groaning. Then, she turned, and he found himself looking into a pair of hazel eyes that told him to stay away from her.

X

Hawk scribbled down the notes she was supposed to be taking in Storm's class. She sighed when she had finished and started twirling her pencil between the fore, middle, and ring fingers. Old habit that's she's been trying to get over, with little success. A student named Fredrick, who sat in the front, raised his hand.

"Yes?" Storm said.

"Are you sure about this?" Fredrick asked, smiling.

"Don't tempt me to demonstrate," she said, shaking her head with a hint of amusement. Then she turned back to the board.

_You guys **know** she'll demonstrate on me!_ Hawk thought, to herself and the students around her. A slight chuckle broke out and Hawk pretended to be interested in the notes.

She could suddenly hear the Professor talking telepathically to someone. An untrained telepath, she could sometimes pick up on things she wasn't supposed to. Then, she sensed a mind toward the door of her class and felt like she was being watched, and turned to see a pair of hazel eyes looking in.

"Hawk," Storm called, causing her to turn around instantly. "Pay attention."

Hawk pointed behind herself. Storm looked toward the door. "Can I help you?"

X

"Hawk," The woman called, causing the girl to turn around instantly. "Pay attention."

The girl pointed behind herself with her thumb. Then the woman turned to face the door where Logan was watching through the narrow crack. "Can I help you?"

All the students turned to stare at him.

Logan just shook his head and moved away quickly, heading toward the hallway with a brighter area.

X

The rest of the class turned toward the intruder, and he quickly left. "Rogue," Storm called to the girl that was a couple of seats down from Hawk. "Come with me, please." Rogue nodded and got up. "The rest of you stay here." She shot a pointed look at Hawk, who was known to disobey the rules and find loop holes. "I mean it, Hawk," she said in a low voice so that only Hawk heard it. "I don't want you setting a foot outside that door."

Hawk shrugged. "Okay," she said casually.

Storm gave her one more hard look before leaving the class room. As soon as she was gone, Hawk turned to Kitty and Jubilee. "Give me a boost to the air vents."

"Storm just told you not to go outside the classroom."

"Storm said that I couldn't set one foot outside the door. She didn't say anything about the air vents."

They rolled their eyes at her. "Always looking for the loop hole, aren't you, Hawk?" Bobby, the boy who sat next to her asked.

"Well, it's not like we all follow the rules." She looked at the boy with a lighter.

"Okay, fine," Jubilee said.

"But if we get into trouble, we're blaming it on you."

"Please, have I ever used you for collateral?"

The two girls looked at each other. "Yes."

Hawk rolled her eyes as she wriggled inside.

X

The hallway expanded into some kind of foyer, with a high ceiling and massive antique chandelier. Beside the hall, which led off in both directions, the main way in and out of the foyer was a double oaken door.

"Where are you going?"

"Over here."

"Where are you going?"

"This way."

"He's over there."

Down the hall, the elevator he had used dinged faintly again, warning him that someone was coming up- most likely after him.

He was in front of the doors in two strides, his hands on the doorknobs when he heard the voice of what sounded like a young boy. "Let's go!"

And then he heard another. "What's your hurry?"

He ran behind a large wooden pillar as he heard a stampede of children climbing down the steps. He paid little attention to what they said, only shifted his position to the other side of the pillar so that there was no chance of them seeing him.

And from the other direction, he could hear the sounds of two people's footsteps on the carpet. He clearly had no choice.

He sprinted in the opposite direction, leapt over a coffee table with ease and opened the doors in front of him, looking behind him to make sure he hadn't been seen.

He slipped into the room and shut the door, inhaling deeply to try to calm himself.

"Good morning, Logan," the old man said calmly.

Logan spun around and came face-to-face with a middle-aged bald man sitting behind a large mahogony desk. There was a blackboard set up next to the massive desk, and four students were sitting in front of the blackboard, clearly in some sort of class. They all turned and stared at him.

"So," the man said, turning back to the children. "I'd like your definitions of weak and strong anthropic principals on my desk on Wednesday, all right? That'll be all."

The children began gathering their things and, one by one, they exited the room, taking the time to stare at Logan curiously. One of the girls ran back to her chair to get her bag, and at least had the good sense not stare at Logan as the others had.

"Bye professor," she said lightly.

"Bye, Kitty," he returned happily.

The girl raced out the door after her friends, and Logan followed her movement. The door had already closed by now, and she walked right through it without pausing.

"Physics," he said, holding up a textbook by way of explanation. With a kind smile, he said, "I'm Charles Xavier. Would you like some breakfast?"

Logan just stared at him. He had been prepared to fight his way out, not be offered something to eat. What the heck was going on here? He needed some answers, and he needed them fast.

"Where am I?" he demanded.

"West Chester, New York," the man said, rolling out into plain view in a wheelchair. "You were attacked. My people brought you hear for medical attention."

"I don't need medical attention," Logan said. He was still hurting slightly in a half dozen places, but he certainly wasn't going to admit it to this guy.

Xavier smiled."Yes, of course."

"Where's the girl?"

"Rogue? She's here. She's fine."

"Really?" Logan growled.

The man simply stared at him, and the door opened two seconds later. Logan stood perfectly still, his glare fixed on the old man.

"Ah," the Professor said. "Logan, I'd like you to meet Ororo Munroe, also called Storm. This is Scott Summers..."

"Hello," Storm said.

"... also called Cyclops." Scott held out his hand to shake, but  
>it looked as if Logan didn't want to. "They saved your life." The Professor added. A tall red headed woman came in then. "I believe you've already met Dr. Jean Grey." Jean walked past Logan to stand next to the Professor. "You're in my school for the<br>gifted; for mutants. You'll be safe here from Magneto."

"What's a Magneto?" Logan asked.

"A very powerful mutant who believes a war is brewing between mutants and the rest of humanity. I've been following activities for for sometime.

"The man who attacked you is an associate of his called Sabretooth."

"Sabretooth?" Logan asked as if the Professor just told him a joke. Then he looked at Storm and pointed a finger at her. "Storm." He clicked his tongue, then turned to the Professor. "What do they call you? Wheels?" He laughed. "This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." He turned to leave, but saw that Cyclops was blocking his path. "You're Cyclops right?" He grabbed Scott by the shoulders. "You wanna get out of my way?"

Scott looked to the Professor for help.

"Logan," Professor X said in a commanding tone. "It's been almost fifteen years, hasn't it? Living from day to day; moving from place to place; with no memory of who or what you are."

"Shut up," Logan said as he turned around.

"Give me a chance. I may be able to help you find some answers."

"How do you know?" Logan whispered, almost fearfully.

"You're not the only one with gifts," Xavier said. Logan heard it with perfect clarity, but the old man hadn't moved his lips at all.

_"Where are you going?"_

_"Where's he going?"_

_"He's over there."_

Logan looked around him wildly.

_"What are you doing?"_

_"Over here._"

Logan stopped and then looked at the Professor. "What is this place?"

X

Hawk crawled through the air vents, stopping over the Professor's office. The mutant they called 'Logan' was already there. It looked like there was a little tension between the two. Storm walked in just then.

"Ah," the Professor said. "Logan, I'd like you to meet Ororo Munroe, also called Storm. This is Scott Summers..."

"Hello," Storm said.

"... also called Cyclops." Scott held out his hand to shake, but it looked as if Logan didn't want to. "They saved your life." The Professor added. A tall red headed woman came in then. "I believe you've already met Dr. Jean Grey." Jean walked past Logan to stand next to the Professor. "You're in my school for the gifted; for mutants. You'll be safe here from Magneto."

"What's a Magneto?" Logan asked.

Only one of the most annoying mutants on the planet, Hawk thought.

"A very powerful mutant who believes a war is brewing between mutants and the rest of humanity. I've been following activities for sometime.

"The man who attacked you is an associate of his called Sabretooth."

"Sabretooth?" Logan asked as if the Professor just told him a joke. Then he looked at Storm and pointed a finger at her. "Storm." He clicked his tongue, then turned to the Professor. "What do they call you? Wheels?" He laughed. "This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." He turned to leave, but saw that Cyclops was blocking his path. "You're Cyclops right?" He grabbed Scott by the shoulders. "You wanna get out of my way?"

Scott looked to the Professor for help.

"Logan," Professor X said in a commanding tone. "It's been almost fifteen years, hasn't it? Living from day to day; moving from place to place; with no memory of who or what you are."

"Shut up," Logan said as he turned around.

"Give me a chance. I may be able to help you find some answers."

"How do you know?" Logan whispered, almost fearfully.

Hawk imagined that the Professor replied telepathically.

"What is this place?"

Jean looked up at her direction, then looked at the Professor, and then Storm. "Shoot!" she said under her breath. She'd been caught. She scooted back- or tried to.

X

Jean caught Storm's eye, and nodded, almost imperceptibly, upward. "She's not..." Storm began.

"She is," Jean replied. Storm scowled and Scott shook his head.

"When is she ever going to learn?" Scott asked.

"Who?" Logan asked, clearly confused about who they were talking about. Jean got a telekinetic grip on the door as she tried to back out of the vicinity, then gave her a nice firm tug. The air vent above them opened and Hawk fell out; crying out in surprise.

"Ashley," the Professor said in a delighted voice.

"Jean!" Hawk exclaimed. "If you do that one more time, I swear, one of these days I'm going to kill you."

Storm hid her smile of amusement behind her hand. "You always say that," Jean said.

"Well, one of these days, just might," Hawk said, scowling.

"Were you eavesdropping again?" Storm asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Yes," Hawk said, a guilty look coming over her face.

"You were told to stay in the classroom."

"Curiosity got the better of me."

"Isn't there an old saying that goes 'Curiosity killed the cat'?"

Hawk sighed exasperatedly. "Yes."

"Who's this again?" Logan asked pointing to the twelve year old.

"Ashley," Hawk said, "but everyone calls me Hawk around here."

"Prankster or troublemaker," Scott added in a low voice to Storm.

"I heard that, Cyclops."

"I believe you have classes you need to attend to," the Professor said.

Hawk left with Storm, Jean with Scott, and Charles gave Logan the grand tour.


	5. Class

Senator Kelly smiled and clapped his heavy hands together as the limousine pulled into the tarmac of the airport. "Looks like we have some supporters."

Henry Guyrich, his aide, nodded, but he wasn't looking at the supporters, or at Kelly. Kelly didn't care what Guyrich thought. Or, for that matter, what anyone thought- except for pollsters. And right now, the polls showed that his antimutant stance was getting him a lot of attention, perhaps even votes. And he was going to keep riding this issue until it no longer yielded those benefits.

The limo came to a stop by a large government helicopter, the pilot already waiting in his seat. The path between the limo and the helicopter was lined by a cheering crowd, barely restrained by a short rope.

Senator Kelly stepped out into the cold and pulled his overcoat tighter across his stomach, then turned toward the crowd, waving and smiling. He could see there were at least two hundred people there, many brandishing antimutant signs. One even had a stuffed mutant hanging on a pole. A few reporters had cameras set up and were doing a live remote.

He moved along moved along the crowd shaking hands, smiling, giving the thumbs-up signal that was becoming his trademark. Around him the crowd cheered even more enthusiastically, encouraging him to keep going, to stop those mutants. He loved this attention. He could feel it fueling him, giving him the extra strength he needed to keep going.

He finally reached the bottom of the stairs that led up to the helicopter. He climbed three steps, then again paused and waved, making sure the cameras had time to catch him fully. Then, with one last quick thumbs-up, he moved inside.

Behind him his aide, Guyrich, followed carrying the senator's briefcase. As he climbed aboard, he glanced toward the pilot, who nodded in acknowledgement.

No one noticed anything out of the ordinary. Not even the senator.

X

The bright winter sun flooded the large solarium, warming the air the students and Storm. Rogue sat near the back, a pile of books on the floor beside her, watching as Storm lectured.

This was all new to her. She had never expected to be included in a class again after what had happened in her old school. Yet here she was, with people who knew what she could do and didn't care. It was going to take her some time to get used to that.

She also had new clothes that fit over a very light body stocking that had been provided to keep anyone from accidentally touching her. It was very soft and comfortable.

Storm stood in front of them, her skin almost radiant in the sunlight, her white hair flowing like a waterfall around her head. She and Dr. Grey were the most beautiful women Rogue had ever seen. Someday, she wanted to be like them. She had already decided that.

"The Roman Empire," Storm was saying, "for centuries, persecuted and ostracized the Christians, to the extent that they were fed to lions for sport. Then, almost overnight, their religion rose to become the dominant faith in the empire. Can anyone tell me what caused the Christians to suddenly become accepted?"

An Asian girl to her right raised her head. "Jubilee."

"The Emperor became christian?"

X

"The Roman Empire," Storm was saying, "for centuries, persecuted and ostracized the Christians, to the extent that they were fed to lions for sport. Then, almost overnight, their religion rose to become the dominant faith in the empire. Can anyone tell me what caused the Christians to suddenly become accepted?"

An Asian girl, two seats from Hawk, raised her hand. That was Jubilation Lee.

"The Emperor became a Christian?" It was more of a question than a statement.

"Exactly right," Storm replied, turning back to the board. "Emperor Constantine and the ruling class council all converted. This..."

Hawk saw Kitty Pryde, who was to Jubilee's left, ask Rogue a question. Hawk wrote down the notes, then saw John Allerdyce, the boy with the lighter from earlier, who was a seat in front of her, light his Zippo and create a ball of fire.

X

Rogue smiled at another boy who sat in front of her. His name was John. He was the cutest boy she had seen in a long, long time.

Kitty, who was sitting beside Rogue, whispered. "So, you know that guy you came in with? He's really got some steel claws that come out of his hands?"

Jubilee, who was sitting on the other side of Rogue, whispered back. "No way. What kind of mutation is that?"

Rogue just shrugged, watching as John pulled out a lighter and clicked it. Then he held his hand under the flame and pulled the lighter away, keeping the flame in place hovering over his hand.

Despite all that she had experienced, Rogue was astonished.

He just smiled, and the flame grew into a ball the size of an orange.

"Showing off again," Jubilee said, shaking her head, but John ignored her.

Now the fireball in John's hand was even bigger, almost the size of a grapefruit. Then suddenly, the ball was engulfed in a ball of ice. Glancing around, Rogue found the two culprits- Bobby and Hawk- suppressing grins. Hawk gave her a friendly wave.

Then Rogue glanced at Storm. She didn't look happy.

"John, what did I tell you?" she asked frowning.

"Sorry, John said.

Storm shook her head, then turned to finish what she was writing on the board.

John glanced back and smiled at Rogue. Right then and there, she knew she was going to like this place.

X

Hawk nudged the boy next to her, Bobby Drake, and gave him a look. Together they froze the fireball, which crashed to the floor, causing the entire class to look at him. "John," Storm said, shooting him a dark look over her shoulder. "What did I tell you?"

"Sorry," John said.

Hawk and Bobby suppressed smiles of amusement. Then Bobby looked over to Rogue.

"I'm Bobby. What's your name?"

"Rogue," she replied.

"What's your real name?"

"Marie."

Bobby smiled and placed his hand on her desk only to remove it and reveal an ice rose. "Welcome to mutant high."

X

"Tomorrow be prepared for a quiz." Storm said as class ended. Everyone groaned as they collected their things. Hawk waited as everyone left, then hid behind the plants.

X

Twenty minutes later, the class ended. Rogue picked up her books, watching as the other students left, some stopping to talk to Storm about some topic.

Bobby took his time, until, Hawk- who gave him a small smirk- Kitty, and Jubilee moved off, then smiled at Rogue. "You want to meet me for dinner?" he asked. "I'll show you around."

Rogue could feel her heart jump. She was flattered and scared at the same time. "Okay, sure."

"Great," he said. He headed to the door with a happy "See ya."

Rogue finished picking up her books as Storm moved toward her. "The lesson wasn't too painful, I hope."

Rogue looked around in wonder, at the glass-walled room and the winter gardens beyond. "This place is so beautiful. And everyone is so nice. I just-" she didn't know what else to say, so she just stopped. "How's Logan? Is he okay?"

"He's fine," Storm replied. "He's quite resilient."

X

"He's fine," Storm said. "He's quite resilient."

Was that a note of admiration Hawk heard?

X

Then Storm got serious. "How long have you been on your own, Rogue?"

Rogue stared into the eyes of the beautiful teacher.

"Eight months. I didn't know there were places like this."

"Well, I don't think there are many places like this," Storm said with a slight laugh of amusement.

"And the Professor," Rogue said looking into Storm's eyes. "Can he actually cure me?"

Rogue watched in surprise as the smile drained from her teachers face. "I don't think it really works like that."

Rogue nodded. Storm seemed to look over her shoulder for a moment, and a look of annoyance and slight amusement came over her. "Do me a favor and tell Hawk that she needs to work on her eavesdropping skills."

Rogue frowned. "Why?"

Storm pointed to a bunch of plants. A tiny bit of blond hair could be seen. "She's over there," she said quietly, before turning to the hidden intruder. "Hawk, I know you're there, come on out. Unless you want me to do the 'test' Fredrick wanted earlier."

X

"And the Professor," Rogue said looking into Storm's eyes. "Can he actually cure me?"

Storm's smile faded, and Hawk could sense the concern in Storm's emotions, and the sadness in Rogue's.

Storm seemed to hesitate a moment as she chose her words carefully. "I don't think it really works like that..."

Rogue nodded. Storm seemed to look over her shoulder for a moment, then turned back to Rogue. "Do me a favor and tell Hawk that she needs to work on her eavesdropping skills."  
>Hawk suddenly had a bad feeling about this.<p>

Rogue frowned. "Why?"

Storm pointed toward the plants where she was hiding. "She's over there. Hawk, get out here, now. Unless you want me to do the 'test' that Fredrick wanted to see earlier."

"Oh, man." Hawk snapped her fingers as she got up. "How did you know I was there? I waited until everybody left this time."

"You're too predictable; plus, Isis gave you away."

Hawk turned to see her white wolf standing in the doorway. "You're goin' down."

X

"You're too predictable; plus, Isis gave you away."

Rogue looked up, startled, to see a white wolf there.

"You're goin' down," Hawk said, pausing fora second to turn to Rogue. "I'll see ya around, Rogue. Get over here!"

"Watch it in the halls, Hawk," Storm called after her.

"Yes, Storm! You are so dead!"

Storm shook her head. Rogue just stood there stunned. "She owns a wolf?"

"And a hawk and a horse," Storm replied. "I thought she showed you her pets?"

"We only managed to get to Midnight. She couldn't find the other two for some reason- wait, she owns a hawk?"

Storm nodded.

"Is that why you call her Hawk?"

"One of them. Believe me, she has her reasons."


	6. Chapter

After a few tests, Dr. Grey ordered Logan to lie down on the bed of what looked like an MRI machine. Logan had been free to study her this entire time. He saw the bruises on her neck, and instantly felt guilty. "I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" She asked, surprised.

"If I hurt you," he clarified, indicating her neck.

She gave him a small smile and a very slight nod. He took that to mean that she accepted his apology.

"So," he began, shifting his shoulders, "couldn't wait to get my shirt off again, eh?"

He turned to smile up at her, but when she turned to look at him, her expression was indignant. She pushed a button and Logan smoothly slid into the MRI.

It was dark at first, then lit up and began making an awful racket. Logan was sure that, even by human standards, it was very bright and loud. He narrowed his eyes against the bright light, and the noise got annoying after awhile.

X

Hawk hid in a nearby closet as Jean gave Scott, Xavier, and Storm a brief summery of her findings.

"The metal is an alloy called adamantium," Jean began after the other three had had a minute to study Logan's skeleton. "Supposedly indestructible. It's been surgically grafted to his entire skeleton."

"How could he have survived a procedure like that?" Storm asked.

"His mutation," Jean answered. "He has uncharted regenerative capability, which enables him to heal rapidly. This also makes his age impossible to determine. He could very well be older than you, professor."

"Who did this to him?" Scott asked, sounding more curious than concerned.

Jean shifted her balance. "He doesn't know. Nor does he remember anything about his life before it happened."

"Experimentation on mutants," Xavier said gravely. "It's not unheard of but, as I said, I've never seen anything like this before."

"What do you think Magneto wants with him?" Scott asked.

"I'm not entirely sure it's him Magneto wants."

"The Adamantium?" Storm asked.

X

After her meeting, Jean went to get Logan and take him to his room. "What exactly _is _Storm's power?" he asked. they had been talking off and on, and he was starting to get curious about everyone else.

Jean laughed. "Her codename speaks for itself."

"She causes storms?"

"_Much _more than that, Logan. She can control the weather. _Any _weather. Her favorite weapon is lightning, so you probably don't want to tick her off."

They reached his room, and Logan noticed something on the ground. He bent down to pick it up. It was a ruby pendant with a gold chain around it. "Whose is this?"

Jean automatically grabbed it from him. "Storm!" she called down the hall.

Storm appeared a moment later. "What is it?"

Jean handed her the ruby. "Seems like someone was playing 'Steal the ruby' again. I bet it was John."

Storm's eyes flashed angrily and there was a roll of thunder. She took a calming breath then turned to the balcony. "John!"

X

Bobby was showing Rogue around when they ran into John and a couple of his buddies. "Hey, guys," Hawk said as she walked by. Then she stopped dead and turned to John. "John, you might want to run for it."

"Why?" John asked.

There was a roll of thunder, and Bobby turned to Hawk. "Wasn't me," she said.

They all received their answer a moment later. "John!"

John looked up, to see Storm on the balcony glaring at him, and judging by the way he started to run, he didn't want to be confronted by her.

"John, get up here."

John stopped and turned to go up the stairs. Hawk giggled. "What's going on?" Rogue asked Bobby.

"John and a few other kids like to mess with Storm by playing 'Steal the ruby'," Bobby replied.

"That ruby belonged to her mother, and after a small accident, was all that Storm had left of her. It's _really _important to her," Hawk added.

"If you take that ruby without her knowledge, you're in _big _trouble."

"In other words: You face the wrath of the Storm."

Rogue grimaced. She liked Storm, and would hate to see her bad side. She and Bobby then continued on with the tour.

X

"Why did you say it was that boy and not the girl I saw earlier... Hawk?" Logan asked Jean after Storm took John somewhere they could talk quietly.

"Hawk might be a trouble maker, but she respects Storm enough not to go messing with that ruby. Even if it is her birthstone." Jean opened the door and crossed to the other side of the room. "I think you'll be comfortable here," she said, turning on the first lamp and crossing the room to turn on the other.

"Where's your room?" he asked, standing at the door with his arms clasped behind his back. He didn't particularly care where it was, but he was running out of questions for her. He'd spoken more today than he had in the past month, and hadn't realized how much he missed human contact.

"With Scott, down the hall," she replied easily

"Is that your gift," he asked, trying to be playful. "Putting up with that guy?" Scott was a bit of a tight-ass, in Logan's opinion, but she obviously knew him better and saw something in him that he didn't. _To each his own._

Jean stared at him for a second, possibly trying to judge whether or not he was being serious. "Actually, I'm telekinetic; I can move things with my mind."

"Really? What kinds of things?" he turned to face her fully and she glared at him. For a spit second, he worried that he might burst into flames, but he heard the closet doors shut behind him. He turned back to look at the closet in amazement.

"All kinds of things," she said smugly. He looked back at her and she smiled a little. "I also have some telepathic ability."

"What? Like your professor?"

"Nowhere near that powerful," she admitted, all modesty now. "But he's teaching me to develop it."

"So read my mind."

"I'd rather not," she said dismissively.

"Come on," He dropped his voice. "You afraid you might like it?"

"I doubt it," she whispered back with a confident smile.

She gave in a moment later and lifted her hands and positioned them on either side of his head, staring into his eyes intensely. She then closed her eyes and exhaled loudly.

Jean's eyebrow twitched and, not half a second later, she began frowning and her eyes snapped open as she inhaled sharply. Logan grabbed her hands, keeping his face perfectly calm and trying not to sound too eager. "What do you see?" he whispered.

She stared at Logan for a second, her heart beating wildly, and then her gaze turned to the door behind him. "Scott."

He turned to the door and released her hands, pretending that he was noticing Scott for the first time as well. Scott stood at the door expectantly, his mouth firmly shut. He wanted Jean out of the room. Neither of them had to be telepathic to know that.

"Goodnight, Logan," she said, avoiding his gaze and walking past him and out of the room.

Logan turned to the space where she had been, staring off into space.

Scott stood perfectly still in the doorway, his regular glasses on and staring pointedly at Logan. Logan put on a smirk, turning casually to Scott. "Are you going to tell me to stay away from your girl?"

"Well, if I had to do that, she wouldn't be my girl," he replied smoothly.

"Hmm." Logan turned around, fully facing Scott and walking towards him. "Well, then, I guess you've got nothing to worry about, do you, _Cyclops_?"

Scott didn't miss a beat. "Yeah, it must just burn you up that a boy like me saved your life, huh?" he asked with a cheeky smirk.

"You ought to be careful," Scott warned. "I might not be there next time."

"Oh, and, Logan?" Scott he said as he paused from closing the door, dropping his voice, his tone now possessive. "Stay away from my girl."

Scott shut the door for him and Logan glared at it for a good minute. He wasn't going to let Goggles tell him what he could and couldn't do. And besides, he kind of liked Jean. Jean wasn't Scott's property. If she wanted to hang around him, she should be able to.


	7. Chapter 5

Logan hated sleeping, but he hadn't actually had a good night's sleep in a few weeks. And hopefully his new surroundings would occupy his mind enough to keep the nightmares at bay. He doubted that it would work out that way, but there was no harm in trying. What was the worst that could happen?

He settled into the large bed, which was quite comfortable, and fell asleep within seconds

Flashes of green lit up behind his eyes.

_Water…_

_Boiling metal…_

_Needles…_

It was the same as every other nightmare, but it had never been this vivid. As clear as the first time he'd had this nightmare. So vivid that he felt the pain of their torture.

_Bio hazard suits…_

_Champagne…_

_Marks on his skin, indicating incision and injection sites…_

X

"Logan."

Her voice sounded like a whisper, but it could simply be because they had her locked in another room.

"Logan."

Her voice was louder now.

X

Logan cried out as he shot up from his nightmare. Marie was staring at him with a pained expression, quietly gasping for breath. He looked down, horrified to see that his claws had sliced through her completely. He quickly withdrew them and stared at her, too horrified by what he had done to speak.

She was still gasping.

"Help me," he said weakly, unsure of what else he could do. She winced and staggered back, though still managed to stay on her feet. And still managed to avoid calling for help of any kind for herself.

Logan finally found his voice, and filled his lungs. "Somebody help!"

X

Storm awoke to a scream from the floor below her. At first, she thought that one of the girls had a nightmare downstairs and figured that one of the others would comfort her. However, that scream sounded familiar, too familiar. As if she heard it recently. "Somebody help!" Logan yelled downstairs.

_Rogue!_ Storm thought. She grabbed her African robe and ran downstairs to Logan's room.

X

He looked back at her, horror and apology in his eyes, which he felt were growing wet. He was watching her die in front of him, because he couldn't separate his dreams from reality. He'd never forgive himself for this, but she didn't look the least bit angry with him or even scared. She looked… determined.

She reached out and lightly touched his cheek, and he immediately felt every vein in his body pulse. It was an odd feeling, and it hurt a little, but the pain was beginning to disappear from her eyes and he realized what she was doing; she was healing herself, by taking his power. Certainly he could endure the pain of her touch if it meant that she'd live. He certainly deserved more pain than he was feeling.

He was vaguely aware of light and noise and the smell of people nearby, but his mind was so scrambled that none of it registered coherently in his mind. At least, until _she _walked in. He didn't see the look on her face, or hear anything she said – if she had even spoken – but her scent hit him full force. He wasn't aware of what happened next. All he knew was that, for the second time, her scent had allowed him to let go of consciousness and pain.

X

When she got there, several students had already reached it. They moved out of the way when they saw her, and she was able to get inside. Logan had just toppled over and Scott and Jean were helping him. Rogue turned to Storm. "It was an accident," she said and ran out of the room.

"I'll go talk to her," Hawk said.

"No," Storm said, following Rogue, "I will."

Hawk scowled as she walked by her. She approached Rogue's door cautiously, and knocked. "Rogue," she said. The girl was sobbing in there. Storm opened the door and slipped inside. "Rogue, are you okay?"

Rogue looked up from the pillow she was crying on. "I-I didn't mean to hurt him."

"Ssshhh," Storm hushed gently, sitting down on the bed next to Rogue. "Slow down. Just tell me what happened."

Rogue sniffed, but nodded. "I heard Logan crying out in his sleep. It woke me up, and I was a little worried. I was trying to wake him without touching him. After a few tries, he finally woke up, but he snapped. He didn't realize I was there and accidentally stabbed me." Rogue started to tremble a little. Storm stroked her back comfortingly. "I-I didn't know of what else to do. So, I-I touched him to heal myself. I don't know how I knew what to do, I just did." Rogue started to sob again, so Storm gently embraced her, being careful not to touch her skin. There was another knock on the door a few minutes later. Hawk was there. "Are you okay, Rogue?"

Storm gave her a dark look; Hawk countered with an innocent one. _She's my friend._

"Rogue," the Professor's voice called a moment later.

"Come in, Professor," Storm said, releasing Rogue.

"Is Logan okay?" Rogue asked.

"Yes," Charles said, "he'll be fine. Storm, could I see you for a moment?"

"Of course," Storm said before turning back to Rogue. "Are you alright for now?"

Rogue nodded.

"I'll stay with her," Hawk offered.

"Go to bed when your finished," Storm told her.

"Alright, get some sleep. We'll talk more tomorrow if you want."

When she stepped out of the room, Charles was waiting for her. "Is the girl alright?"

Storm nodded. "She's pretty shaken up by this, but a little reassurance should help. From what she told me, it does seem like an accident. Logan was having a nightmare, Rogue heard and was concerned; then she tried to wake him up; when he did, he didn't realize she was there, and stabbed her. How's Logan?"

"He's still unconscious, I'm afraid. Rogue held on for quite awhile. If she had held on any longer, she could've killed him."

Storm stopped in shock. "How... strong is her ability?"

"Very, strong. She needs to learn to control the power."

"With all due respect, Professor, but she absorbs the power upon contact. I don't know if she _can_ learn to control it. Maybe if she could learn to control the power she takes upon contact, things could get easier for her."

"That could work," Charles said thoughtfully. "We might have to test it out though." Charles looked at his watch. "I have to go see Logan. Jean said he should be awake by now. And you should get some sleep."

"Yes, Professor," Storm said, heading toward her room. Storm still had her concerns for Rogue, but she felt that things would probably be better the next day. She headed back to Logan's room to see if there was anything she could do.

X

"Logan?"

Logan inhaled sharply before opening his eyes. Xavier was sitting next to his bed, peering curiously at him. He could smell that Jean had recently been in the room, and he could probably expect her to be back any minute since he was now awake. He must have been in bad shape if he required this much attention. "What happened? Is she all right?"

"She'll be all right," he assured Logan.

That was a relief. He'd been so terrified that he'd killed her… "What did she do to me?"

"Whenever Rogue touches someone, she takes their energy, their life force," he explained calmly. "In the case of mutants, she absorbs their gifts for a short while. In your case, your ability to heal."

That sounded familiar. Hadn't be been thinking that before he'd passed out? Everything but _her _scent was hazy. He tried not to growl in frustration. "I feel like she almost killed me," he said instead.

"If she'd held on any longer, she could have."

Logan turned to look at Xavier. He had been exaggerating, but it seemed that the danger had been more real than he'd realized.

"Jean will be here in a minute to check on you again. I'll leave you to rest."

Just as Xavier made it to the door, Jean opened it for him from the other side and moved aside for him to pass. She left the door opened behind her and handed Logan some white pills and a glass of water, which he downed without protest.


	8. Chapter 6

Hawk watched as Bobby and Rogue talked to each other. Suddenly, Rogue got up and walked away from him. She looked upset. "Rogue!" Hawk called. Rogue just walked by; Hawk stopped her with a little telekinesis. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"You wouldn't understand," Rogue said, her voice cracking a little before she started off again. Hawk let her go, then noticed Bobby's eyes flash. He got up slowly from the bench, as if he just accomplished something. As he walked by, Hawk called to him. "Bobby!" Bobby stopped and turned to her. "What did you say to her?"

"She doesn't belong here, kid," he replied.

_Kid? _He was not going to get away with that. "You two were certainly hitting it off yesterday."

Bobby didn't seem to know how to respond at first, but quickly composed himself. "She's dangerous, and that's all I have to say about that." He smiled. "By the way, you're hair's on fire."

"Yeah, you wanna know why? Because I'm getting angry, irritated, and frustrated." With a wave of her hand, they flame went out; leaving the area it was lit uncharred. Bobby walked back into the mansion. "Y'know, you're lucky I don't set Isis on you!" He ignored her. "Jerk," she muttered.


	9. Chapter 7

Storm raced into the foyer, where she found Logan. "Logan," she said relieved. "Thanks goodness I found you. Have you seen Rogue?"

Logan shook his head. "No, why?"

"She wasn't in any of her classes today."

"What? Is she in her room?"

Storm shook her head. "No. I'll check with Hawk later to see if she's seen her. With the way she eavesdrops she's bound to know something."

"Do you know where she is?"

Storm shook her head.

Logan shook his head irritably and stormed off to the nearest elevator. Storm followed, wondering where he was going, and if she needed to hold him back.

X

"Where is she," he demanded as soon as the doors opened.

"Who?" Scott asked.

"Rogue." Xavier frowned, as though deep in thought. "She's gone."

"Come with me," Xavier said, wheeling himself out into the mass of identical halls, none of which lead upstairs or to the jet that they had.

"What are we doing?" Logan snapped as he followed behind. "Why aren't we looking for her?"

"We are," Scott said, as though that were perfectly obvious.

Xavier patiently waited for some sort of eye scanner to identify him. "Welcome, professor," a computer voice said, opening the round steel doors.

"Welcome to Cerebro."

Xavier wheeled himself in, and Logan absently followed him, thinking nothing of it. "This certainly is a big, round room," he stated lamely, for lack of anything else to say. How the hell did they expect this room to find Marie? Was it some kind of super computer-locater-tracker…

"The brain waves of mutants are different from average human beings," Xavier explained, possibly having read the last statement in his mind. "Just like you can tell mutants apart from humans by their unique scents, I can identify brain activity to tell them apart. This device amplifies my power, allowing me to locate mutants across great distances. That's how I intend to find Rogue."

Well, if it was so easy to find Marie in this manner… "Why don't you just use it to find Magneto?"

"I've been trying. But he seems to have found some way to shield himself from it."

Logan shrugged. Some part of him had expected an answer like that. Xavier seemed to have plenty of answers, but when it came to solutions… "How would he know how to do that?" Logan asked.

"Because he helped me build it."

Well, he had said that they'd been friends once upon a time. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" Xavier picked up a strange looking metal device with thick chords and placed it on his head. Recognizing this as an invitation to exit, Logan turned around and made his way back to the hall, breathing a little easier. He wasn't sure how long the process would take, but at least they'd know where Marie was. He was positive that this was his fault, and he didn't want her to hate him. Though they'd only known each other for a few days, she had grown on him.

The doors to Cerebro closed and Scott, Jean, Logan and Ororo were left alone in the hall. Ororo's scent was unusually overpowering in the suddenly colder hall, and Logan glanced in her direction. She looked terribly worried, and he didn't doubt that she was the source of the drop in temperature. Perhaps she was just worried about Marie taking off by herself.

Logan turned his attention to Jean, curious about something. "Have you ever – " he asked, motioning to the now closed door.

"Used Cerebro?" she clarified. "No. It takes a degree of control and, uh, for someone like me its – " She let her statement hang in the air, trying to find the right word.

"Dangerous," Scott supplied, speaking only to Jean, it seemed.

Recognition seemed to cross Scott's features, and Logan knew that his comment hadn't been an intended blow. Logan knew that Scott sure as hell wouldn't apologize for it, but knowing that it had been unintentional made it easier for Logan to forgive him.

Logan idly wondered if effects like having memories erased on that machine could be reversed, to gain memories back. It didn't seem logical, but if it could be done, it would probably have to be done by a telepath. Perhaps that was what Xavier intended to do when Logan's forty-eight hours were up.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, Logan," Ororo blurted. "I just _knew_ that she was taking time to cool off and I was sure that you knew where she was."

He looked over at her to see her looking very apologetic. Was that what had her so worried? Despite his own worry about the situation, he couldn't find it in his heart to blame Ororo at all. She was the one who'd realized that she was gone in the first place. "It's not your fault," he said calmly. "It was a fair assumption. And she's nearly an adult; we don't have to watch over her like a hawk."

"Or so we thought," Scott muttered.

A quiet, angry growl rose in Logan's throat before he could stop it. He was on edge with worry about Marie, and the fact that Scott didn't seem the least bit worried or even surprised that Marie was gone made Logan want to snap him in half. He'd give Scott one more strike before punching him square in the jaw. It was clear that Scott didn't fear Logan and could probably even handle himself in a fight, but at the end of the day, Logan would eat him alive.

A feather light weight rested on his shoulder and he jerked in surprise. Ororo seemed to have collected herself and now looked much more optimistic. Maybe knowing that Logan didn't blame her for not coming sooner was exactly what she'd needed to hear. "We'll find her. She can't have gone too far on her own, and it looks like the professor is coming out now.

X

Hawk crawled through the air vent to where the legendary Cerebro was. She stopped outside it when she saw Jean, Storm, Logan, and Scott.

The doors opened and Logan eagerly turned his attention to Xavier. "Well?"

"She's at the train station."

"Where is it?" Logan asked before he could stop himself.

"A few miles west of here."

Logan rolled his eyes and turned to leave. 'A few miles west of here' was hardly helpful, but he'd find the damn station somehow.

"Logan," Xavier said suddenly. "You can't leave the mansion."

Logan stopped and turned back to Xavier. _The hell I can't, _he nearly shouted.

"This is just the opportunity Magneto needs."

"Then he'll probably take it," Logan snapped. "Then again, he might not. You said yourself that you weren't sure that I was the one he was after. And how would he know where to find us unless he's a telepath himself?"

"Storm and Cyclops can find her."

Ororo turned to look at Logan expectantly, as though asking if that were okay with him. "Listen, I'm the reason she took off," Logan said, as much as he hated to admit it.

"We had a deal," Xavier said flatly.

Logan's frown deepened. Oh, well didn't _that _fix everything! Marie was about to get on a train to God knows where because he had nearly killed her and Xavier was worried about their stupid deal? He felt a growl itching to rise up from his throat, but Ororo opened her mouth and silenced that thought completely.

"She's all right," she said, her musical voice thick with reassurance. She turned back to Logan and caught his eyes without struggle. "She's just upset."

Though the words were simple to everyone's ears, the look she gave only to him said something else. _This isn't your fault either. _He believed her. In the back of his mind, he _knew_ that he should follow his own instincts and go after Marie, but something in Ororo's voice calmed his overanxious mind. If Logan couldn't leave the mansion to find Marie, then he trusted Ororo to find her and bring her back.

"Storm, Cyclops," Xavier said eagerly. "Find her. See if you can talk to her."

Logan watched Ororo carefully as she nodded and made her way down the hall with Scott. Jean exhaled, sending her less potent gingerbread smell into his lungs in place of Ororo's toxic rainforest. Logan blessed the air and finally tore his eyes away from the sway of her white hair and glared at Xavier.

Suddenly, Jean looked up her direction. _Busted, _Jean said.

_Oh, no, _Hawk thought. Suddenly, she felt a tug, and came crashing out of the wall. Storm and Scott stopped and turned her direction. "Jean," Hawk moaned.

X

He glanced in Jean's direction. Who the hell was going to stop him if he decided to go anyway? He turned to leave, carefully seeking out the scent of oil and gasoline. When it hit his nose, he smirked and as soon as he was out of sight of Xavier and Jean, he broke into a sprint for the garage. Judging by the leisurely pace that Ororo and Scott had been walking, they weren't too worried about Marie actually leaving. Logan was.

He knew that she was leaving because of him, and he was going to get to her before she left and, if nothing else, at least try to make amends before she was gone. He entered the garage and looked around. Plenty of nice cars, but he doubted that the keys were inside. With a school full of teenagers, if they were stupid enough to leave the keys in the car, they were begging the brats to go out joyriding. His eyes swept every corner and stopped on a motorcycle.

It looked nice enough. Fast, powerful and… Logan smirked. The key was in the ignition, and a tag on the key chain read 'Cyclops.'

He hopped on and turned the key. Perfect fit, engine purred like a kitten, tank was full…

Though Logan was on a very serious mission to bring Marie back to the X-Men mansion, he couldn't help but enjoy himself a little. Scott's bike was a smooth ride, and there was always a feeling of liberation that accompanied Logan whenever he rode a motorcycle.

He rounded corners with precision and practiced ease that he'd always possessed. Long ago he'd come to the conclusion that he must have ridden motorcycles _before_, because he'd always been a good rider.

Looking down for the switch to flip for the headlight, he saw a button with three red arrows. Raising a brow, Logan wondered if he ought to push it. _What's the worst that could happen? It's not like it's a self destruct button or anything…_

He pushed the button and his heart jumped into his throat as the motorcycle accelerated from sixty-five miles per hour to one-hundred and thirty in half a second. Were it not for his super-human reflexes, Logan was sure that he would crash trying to wind around the roads many twists and turns. The harsh wind pulled his already wide smile even wider. He'd get to Marie in time, and this was pretty fun…


	10. Chapter 8

Hawk waited up in the air vents, reading a book, waiting for _something _to turn up. "When was the last time you saw her?":someone asked. Hawk looked out to see Bobby with a couple of his friends walking by.

"I don't know," Bobby replied. "She was supposed to meet me for lunch today."

_What?_ Hawk thought. Suddenly _another _Bobby appeared and went down the elevators. What the heck was going on?

Luckily, Hawk knew the air shaft system well and found the route down easily. She reached the lower levels almost as soon as "Bobby" did. Then, Bobby knelt down in front of Cerebro. _What on earth are you doing?_

"Welcome Professor," a computer voice said.

_What! _Hawk never knew if there was a vent to Cerebro, but now was a good time to find out. Lucky for her, there was one. But, instead of Bobby, there was an indigo-blue woman there. _Shape-shifter, _Hawk thought. Indigo was leaning over something ion Cerebro. The blue liquid inside became _black._

_Oh my gosh, _Hawk thought in shock. _We've been infiltrated! She's sabotaging Cerebro!_

She thought about telling the Professor, but she also that dreaded feeling that the train station was a trap.

Storm, Cyclops, and quite possibly Logan- she had heard someone drive off on a motorcycle, and she knew that Storm and Cyclops would take Storm's car; plus, Cyclops was the only one who owned a bike- were at the train station looking for Rogue.

As soon as Indigo was gone, Hawk jumped down form the vents and raced for the stables.

She found Midnight Storm- an Andalusian black mare- in her stall. She grabbed the mane and quickly mounted.

_Hawk, what are you doing? _the mare asked. _You know what the Professor's said about riding bareback._

_C'mon, Storm, _Hawk said. _This is an emergency._

Storm's ears pricked. _What kind of emergency?_

_The kind that if we don't hurry, everyone's life could be in danger._

Storm pawed at the ground and Hawk opened then closed the stall door with her telekinesis once they were out. Storm then reared and galloped off to the train station._  
><em>

Standing in the middle of the train station, Logan concentrated hard. If he was going to find Marie, he'd have to momentarily sacrifice the use of his other senses. Not caring about the odd looks that he was probably going to receive, Logan closed his eyes and blocked out the noise around him, focusing all of his power on his sense of smell.

He blocked out the scents of the humans around him in search of Marie's peppermint scent, which wasn't too hard since the humans all seemed to blend together. He picked out a few unique scents – cotton and pineapple were the ones that were most easily identifiable, telling him that at least two other mutants were here – but he wasn't breathing for more than thirty seconds when he picked up the faint scent of peppermint.

His eyes snapped open and he followed his nose, which lead him right past the ticket counter without stopping to pay. "Excuse me, sir, but I'm afraid I can't let you through without a ticket," an irate looking man said.

Logan glared at him, hanging on to Marie's scent. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm bringing someone back."

"All the same sir, you're going to have to purchase a ticket before I'm allowed to – "

Logan let his lip curl up in an animal like snarl slid past his teeth. The young man swallowed hard and stepped aside. Logan passed, eyeing him with a look that he hoped was intense enough to discourage this man from calling security. The last thing that he wanted was to cause unnecessary commotion.

He continued following his nose and it lead him right to Marie, who sat by herself on the train, complete with trench coat with the hood up to discourage socializing of any kind.

"Hey kid," Logan said quietly, sliding into the seat next to hers. He swallowed hard when she didn't look at him, hoping that she wasn't furious with him. Perhaps talking a little before bringing up the subject of the night before would make it a little less awkward. "Where'd you get the money for a ticket?"

It was her turn to swallow hard, still refusing to look at him, though her eyes widened. "I didn't."

Logan snorted and Marie looked at him strangely. "Well, let me give you some free advice; when the ticket guy comes, hide in the bathroom and pretend that your sick for a while."

"You know, believe it or not, I was actually thinking of doing that."

"Small world." He looked around and finally sighed. Beating around the bush would only get him more meaningless conversation like this. "I'm sorry about last night," he said quietly.

She turned to him slowly, but she didn't look angry with him at all. In fact, she looked… ashamed? "Me too."

Logan could only nod. It was his opinion that she had nothing to apologize for. He'd almost killed her, and when faced with death it was natural to used whatever means necessary to save yourself, sometimes at the expense of someone you cared for. But, if she felt that she needed to be sorry in order to make things right from her end, he wouldn't stop her. "You running again?"

"I heard the professor was mad at me," she said quietly, looking away.

Logan frowned. Xavier was a pretty understanding person, and he hadn't seemed the least bit upset when he'd been talking to Logan. "Who told you that?"

"A boy at school."

_A boy at school… _She was going to leave, not because of him, but because some boy had lied and told her that Xavier was mad at her?

"What boy," Logan growled.

"It doesn't matter"

"It does matter. I'll skin him alive. What boy?"

She smiled humorlessly. "I'm sure he was just misinformed."

"My ass," he snorted. "Nevertheless, the professor isn't at all mad at you. Accidents happen, he understands that."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You think I should go back," she said accusingly.

_Yes. _"No," he said carefully. "I think you should follow your instincts."

A pained expression crossed her features. She looked as though she might collapse into a fit of tears at any moment. "The first boy I ever kissed ended up in a coma for three weeks. I can still feel him inside my head." Her voice was hallow, haunted almost. "And it's the same with you."

Logan looked away from her. He understood what she was saying, to a certain extent. Though it didn't necessarily feel like Marie was inside his head, it did feel like she was now a part of him. It didn't really upset him the way it seemed to upset her, but something in the back of his mind told him that she was upset because she felt like she had stolen something from him. He knew that she felt that way about David, though he didn't know how he knew that.

_That must be her talking,_ he thought, shaking his head a little.

Since meeting her only a few days ago, Marie had really grown on him. She was his first true friend, and he felt drawn to her, as though he wanted to protect her. Though she was probably seventeen, in his eyes she seemed like a scared seven-year-old asking for help.

With a bit of a start, he realized that these were paternal feelings. He wanted to shield her from the world, or perhaps give her all of the joy that could be had from the world. That was why he'd been so concerned about her in the bar, and why he hadn't had the heart to leave her on the road. And the fact that they'd nearly killed each other only made him feel closer to her. It was unnerving to think that he could care so much about someone, but it felt kind of nice to care about someone other than himself.

"You know," he said softly, "ever since I woke up fifteen years ago, I've seen these powers of mine as a curse. I've always been the reckless kind because I don't die, I always heal. There have been times when I've even tried to die, but as you can obviously see, they've been failed attempts."

He glanced back and saw that her eyes were closed as though she were in physical pain. "I know," she whispered. "I feel the same."

His frown deepened. This was his fault. Whether this boy had fed her some bullshit lie or not, whatever part of him that had transferred over to Marie was now haunting her. The problem was that, no matter how far she ran, she wouldn't be able to escape it. Not by herself.

"When you touched me last night, for one brief second, I could actually see my death. And right then I realized that I didn't want it anymore. I want to thank you for that." He wrapped his arm around her comfortingly and pulled her close. She leaned heavily on her shoulder, her breathing and heartbeat erratic as she let go of the emotions she seemed to be trying to hide from him. She definitely couldn't do this alone.

"There's not many people that'll understand what you're going through, but I think this guy Xavier's one of them. He seems to genuinely want to help you, and that's a rare thing…" He looked down at her, hoping that she understood that she wasn't alone. "for people like us."

The train creaked and lurched forward, and Marie started, sitting up straight and looking out the window. She turned back to Logan expectantly, waiting to see if he'd let her go that easy or drag her back kicking and screaming.

Logan cleared his throat and looked around briefly, feeling odd in his own skin. He wasn't an emotional person, nor was he the type to comfort people when they were vulnerable. It was quite an experience, but Marie was worth it. If it got her back to Xavier's school, then it was certainly worth the mild discomfort.

"So, what do you say?" he asked, his voice returning to its previous gruffness, though his eyes remained soft for her sake. "Give these geeks one more shot?"

A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips, but she still didn't seem sure. "Come on," Logan whispered, staring straight into her eyes. "I'll take care of you."

The words were out of his mouth before he'd realized exactly what he'd said. But it was too late to take it back, and a big part of him didn't want to take it back. She seemed more settled now and she gave a nod so slight that anyone else would have missed it. "You promise?"

"Yeah." Sure, Jean may be a friend of his, and Ororo's scent was a quiet obsession of his, but he and Marie had been thrown into this together, and somehow it felt right that they stay together.

"Yeah, I promise," he repeated.

X

"You look around," Storm said to Scott Summers. "I'll check with the ticket agent."


	11. Chapter 9

"You look around," Storm said to Scott Summers. "I'll check with the ticket agent."

She didn't have to wait long. "Hi, I'm wondering if you've seen a teenage girl around here. She's about seventeen, my height, has brown hair, and-"

The agent's eyes went wide with fear at something behind her.

X

Hawk jumped off of Midnight and raced for the train station. She saw Storm in the ticket line talking to the ticket agent. Then, she sensed someone coming toward her. She turned and saw Victor Creed... heading directly for Storm. "Storm look out!"

X

"Storm, look out!"

She barely managed to finish the turn, and gasp, when Sabretooth grabbed her neck and lifted her off the ground. She started to make small gurgling sounds when Sabretooth made another growl and brought her closer to his face. "Scream for me," he whispered. When she didn't, he slammed her skull into the window behind her, causing it to crack.

"Let her go," someone ordered. She didn't have to see who it was to know it was Hawk. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Hawk standing up to Sabretooth, a fire ball in either hand. Storm shook her head slightly at her. "_No," _she lipped behind Sabretooth's back, who was smiling and laughing at her, _"Go."_

Hawk understood, although she was reluctant to leave. After a second she turned and ran off. If she or Scott couldn't get to Rogue, the Hawk more than likely could.

X

Storm saw Scott turn and head her direction. Toad's tongue came down and knocked the visor off of him. Scott was forced to look up quickly before he could hit anyone. The optimal rays that shot out from his eyes caused a huge hole in the roof.

X

"Scott, watch it!" Hawk called, but by the time the warning came out, Toad's tongue already had the visor. She put a shield up to protect herself from the debris, then continued on down the corridor where she sensed Rogue had gone. She used windboarding to get to the train.

X

Storm was nearly out when it happened, and wasted no time on it. She quickly summoned some energy to create a lightning bolt.

Sabretooth's hair started to stick out at the static electricity she was creating, and looked up at the ceiling. She created a roar of thunder in warning, and Sabretooth just roared back. When he didn't let go of her, Storm was almost out completely, and she knew it was now or never. She brought the bolt down and struck him dead in the chest. He roared as the bolt stayed on him for a few seconds. The bolt disappeared when he let go and charged him back. She blacked out as she hit the floor.

X

"Storm!" someone called out. Storm didn't know how long she was out, but didn't really care. The air was finally coming back into her lungs. Or, really, forced back into her lungs. "Storm!"

Storm started to cough and gasp. "Scott," she said hoarsely, when she finally figured out who it was.

"Storm," Scott said as he rushed over, his eyes closed. Obviously Toad had taken a souvenir with him. "Hang in there. Are you okay?" He helped her sit up.

Storm nodded, still coughing. "Yes."

"Easy."

"Yes," Storm repeated. "I'm alright."

"Okay," Scott said, bracing his arms to help her stand. After a moment he turned back to. "Can you move?"

Storm nodded. "Yes."

"Your alright?"

"Yes, Scott."

"Alright," Scott said, looking around, even though he had his eyes closed. "We- we gotta get out of here. Alright, here we go, c'mon." He helped her stand up as she broke into another fitful cough.

X

She visibly relaxed, and the tension between them all but vanished. Logan smirked. "Now, about this boy…"

Logan was weighing the pros and cons of killing a boy named Bobby Drake when a familiar scent approached his nostrils.

"Rogue," Someone called behind them. That person stopped dead when she saw Logan. "Logan?"

"Hawk?" Rogue asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your butt. We have to go. Now."

"Why?"

"Because Magneto's here."

"How do you know?" Logan asked.

"Because I just saw Storm gettin' strangled by the muscles of the group. His name's Sabretooth." There was a sudden flash of lightning. "That would be Storm."

"How do you know?"

"Oh, don't play dumb. Storm is the only other person, besides me, that I know who can control lightning."

"How do you know Sabretooth can't?"

"Are you seriously trying to test me? Sabretooth has the exact same powers you have."

The train screeched to a sudden halt. He threw his arm out to prevent Marie from being thrown completely out of her seat, and hoped that she wouldn't panic like the humans. Hawk somehow managed to stay on her feet. Frightened screams echoed through the train half a second later, and the smell of fear radiating off of them nearly made him choke.

Marie frowned at him and he stood to look around. No one seemed severely hurt, only startled. The lights flickered menacingly. _Son of a…_

_Gun, _Hawk thought at him.

The back of the cart rattled violently until it finally bent and peeled open like a banana. Humans screamed and ran towards the front of the cart, but Logan stayed where he was, watching the electrical wires shoot sparks in every direction and wondering if what he was seeing was possible.

A strong copper scent assaulted his nose as a figure floated into view and landed in the cart gracefully. He wore a cape, a metal helmet of some kind, and a wicked smile that could only mean danger. _Magneto._

Glancing at Marie to make sure that she'd stay down, Logan pushed his claws out of his knuckles and took up a defensive stance, paying no heed to the thirty-seven erratic heartbeats that he caused to spike.

"You must be Wolverine," the old man said conversationally, strolling up to him like they were old pals. Logan tried to take a step towards him, but Magneto threw his arm out and Logan became completely immobile.

"That remarkable metal doesn't run through your entire body, does it?" He spread his fingers and Logan's body snapped up straight, his arms spread wide and his entire body under Magneto's control. He spread his fingers more and Logan's and bones spread out, slowly pulling all of the muscles in his body apart. "I guess it does after all."

"Cute trick," Logan said through grit teeth. Sweat formed on his brow immediately, but he refused to cry out in pain. The back of his mind registered that he was being lifted off the ground, but the pain was so intense that he didn't care.

"Stop!" Marie screamed hysterically. "Stop it!"

"Rogue, quiet," Hawk hissed.

Logan focused. There had to be some way to get his body under control. He had _just_ promised that he'd take care of Marie, and now Magneto was going to drag him away from her for whatever grand plan he had set in motion.

"What the heck do you want with me?" Logan growled.

Magneto raised his eyebrows in honest curiosity. "You?" he chuckled. "My dear boy, who ever said that I wanted you?"

Logan's heart froze as everything clicked into place. Marie had been with him when Sabretooth had attacked him. Marie was with him now, crying on his behalf. Xavier didn't know what Magneto wanted with him because Magneto didn't want Logan at all. With difficulty, Logan turned his head to look at Marie, silently pleading to her to run. But her fearful wide eyed gaze was fixed on Magneto as she slouched down in her seat. Now she knew it too. Magneto was after her.

Magneto closed his hand into a fist and Logan was thrown with deadly force all the way to the front of the cart, his head hitting something so hard that he was out before his feet touched the ground.

X

Rogue glared at Magneto, then dashed after Logan. "Young people," Magneto muttered. A syringe flew out towards her past Hawk.

"No!" Hawk cried, using her telekinesis to stop it.

Magneto was surprised at the strength of her telekinesis in a girl so young.

"Nice try, Magneto, now let's meet my weapon. Isis!"

The white wolf appeared from behind someone's seat and charged at Magneto. Magneto brought something across Isis' head. Hawk cried out in pain as Isis yelped, her grip became loose on the syringe. Rogue was kneeling over Logan, urging him to get up. If she could hold on just a bit longer...

That was not going to happen. Something whacked straight across the back of her head, and she blacked.


	12. Chapter 10

"Logan?"

He groaned, reaching for the back of his head. His entire skeleton was humming in a very painful way, and the sounds of his pulse mixed with the pulses in the area were much too loud. He probably had another concussion. _Fantastic._

"Logan? Are you okay?"

"He got Marie, didn't he?" Logan grunted.

Storm sighed. "Yes, he did."

She reached around and helped him to sit up. He hissed in pain, then looked at Storm. "What happened to you?"

"What? This?" She touched her throat lightly, her jaw clenched. "This is my little gift from Sabretooth."

Logan looked past her to Scott, to see him with his eyes squeezed shut.

"His visor got knocked off," Storm said, answering his unasked question.

That was when Hawk moaned. Storm looked her way. "Oh, no." When she reached the twelve-year-old, she was whimpering in pain. Storm knew that she had a migraine, and handling her with a migraine was always a hassle. "What happened?"

All Hawk could do was point to the metal briefcase. Storm understood. "Scott!" Storm called. Scott found her easily. She was still weak from her encounter with Sabretooth, so, she had to have Scott support her. Hawk, speeding up her healing process, got up, and carried Isis with her telekinesis.

Scott also supported Logan as they walked in the trees. A black mare trotted up behind them, followed by a hawk. Hawk leaned against the mare, who didn't seem affected by the extra weight.

After plenty of walking, a car drove up next to them. Jean got out of the driver's seat and helped Storm into the car. Scott supported Logan as he got in next to Storm, followed by Scott. Jean brought Hawk to the front, and put her in the middle with Isis on her lap. The mare and hawk followed the car.


	13. Chapter 11

Logan splashed some water on his face as the Professor and- now there was a surprise- Storm came in. Storm had her arms crossed, but she kept silent as the two talked.

"You said he wanted _me_," Logan said.

"I made a terrible mistake," Xavier said gravely. "His helmet was somehow designed to block my telepathy. I couldn't see what he was after until it was too late."

Judging by Storm's defiant stance, she believed Xavier. Time was not something that Marie had, as far as they knew, and arguing with Xavier was only going to waste time. Grinding his teeth to keep his mouth shut, Logan drifted smoothly across the room and threw on his leather jacket.

"Where are you going?" Storm asked.

"I'm going to find her," he snapped back.

Xavier turned in his chair and gave Logan a skeptical look as he shrugged on his leather jacket. "How?"

Logan snorted. "The traditional way," he growled. "_Look_."

Storming out of the room, Logan made his way to the front door. Storm followed him.

"Logan, you can't do this alone."

"Why not?" he asked cynically. "Should I wait for good old Xavier and his fanatics – you included – to make everything alright? So far you've all done a bang-up job."

"We're not fanatics, Logan," she said, her voice low and even and controlled.

"No?" he asked glaring at her. "Then just what are you? Why are you doing all this?"

"Because humanity needs us."

Logan took a step back toward her. "Oh, _humanity_ needs you? How have they lived all this time without you?"

"It's a different world now," Storm said standing face-to-face with him. "As a new species, we have a responsibility to protect them, to teach human beings to accept our presence here. Please, just help us, fight with."

"Fight with you? Join the tea,? Be an _X-man? _Who the heck do you think you are? You're a mutant. The whole world out there that's full of people who hate and fear you, and you're wasting your time trying to protect them? I've got better things to do." Logan shook his head, glaring at her as she stayed where she was. "You see, _this_ is what pisses me off about you hypocrites. You have all these high minded ideals, but you and I both know that you still hate them just as much as they hate you!"

She started to protest, but he held up a hand for her to stop.

"Look, I dislike everyone equally, but you..." he shook his head in disgust. "You talk about human beings like they're children waiting for you to punish them for their ignorance."

He stepped even closer, looking her directly in the eye. "They did hate you, didn't they? Hey, it's not like I don't understand." He raised his fist and extended a claw.

"Leave her alone!" Someone called from the balcony.

"Hawk," Storm muttered darkly, before turning to look at the girl. "You're supposed to be in bed, Hawk."

"Couldn't sleep," Hawk countered. "You know how my telepathy is when there are active minds. Plus, it looks like someone was about to slice 'n' dice you." She gave a pointed look at Logan.

Storm gave her a dark look. "Hawk, bed. Now. I'll be up there in a minute." Then, Hawk scrambled down the corridor.

As soon as she was gone, Logan continued, intending to go for the kill. "They cut my body open and turned me into this. What did they do to you?"

Storm looked flustered, but Logan wouldn't let her turn away. "I've overcome the trials of my past." She finally said.

Logan just sneered at her, finally retracted his claws, and turned the front door.

At the door, he glanced back at her. "Well, good for you."

He started to open the door, then stopped."You know, Magneto's right. There's a war coming. You sure you're on the right side?"

She looked at him, stiffly refusing to drop his gaze as the silence in the foyer seemed to stretch on forever. "At least I've chosen a side," she said then.

Again, they stared at each other, then, with a shake of his head, he turned and opened the door. Rogue was out there somewhere, and he had to find her. He was wasting his time here.

"Hawk!" Storm called. Logan could tell that the girl was back at the balcony. "I thought I told you to go back to bed."

"Well, I thought I'd let you know there's someone at the door."

_Me, smarty-pants, _Logan thought.

_Nice try, _a voice said in his head. It certainly wasn't the Professor or Jean. _But, I don't take too kindly to remarks like that. **Especially **after someone's threatened my mentor. I'll let it slide though, because you'll see that I'm right once you open that door._

As he opened the door, Storm gasped. That girl- Hawk- or whatever her name was, was right. Standing there in front of him was a man wearing clothes that clearly didn't fit, looking just about as pale and sickly as a man could look and still stand. His clothes were soaked, and a puddle had formed around his feet.

"What the-" Logan began as he was cut off.

_Heck- _someone out in his head.

"Ow! Hey," Hawk said with indignation. Logan didn't have to turn around to know that there was a glaring contest going on behind him.

"Heck," he finished, not in the mood to tick off a telepath... or, at least he thought she was telepathic. "Happened to you?"

Storm stepped up beside Logan. "Senator Kelly?"

"Senator Kelly!" Hawk echoed.

"The Senator Kelly?" Logan asked, actually shocked. "The guy who hates mutants?"

_I really wished I had my camera, _Hawk said. _Your face is priceless._

Logan shot her a brief glare.

The man nodded at his unanswered question. Then, very weakly, he said, "I'm looking for... Dr. Jean Grey..." At that, the man's eyes rolled up into his head, showing only whites, and he pitched forward, right into Logan's arms.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Hawk had to suppress a laugh at how funny Logan looked. For Logan, it was like holding onto the slime covering of a JELL-O mold. He barely got him to the ground without dropping the Senator.

"Professor! Jean!" Storm shouted.

Logan stood up. _Well, _he thought. _It looks as if I'm not going anywhere yet._

X

Jean and the professor entered the medical room together, professional and blissfully unaware of what had just gone on between Logan and Storm. Xavier glanced at the figure that was lying on the bed as he entered the Medical lab. It was clearly the same man who had chaired that hearing just a short time before, yet it wasn't the same man. The man at the hearing had been healthy, cocky, and sure of his beliefs. This man looked as if he were burning up with fever and melting at the same time.

Logan and Storm were standing against a counter on the other side of the bed. Cyclops was sitting on a second medical bed. Hawk was standing at a counter farthest from the senator- even though she was supposed to be in bed. Jean was standing over the senator.

"So what has happened to him?" Xavier asked her.

Jean shrugged. "I can't explain it, but he's a mutant. Or better put, he's become one."

"What's his mutation?"

"He's extremely adaptable," Jean said. "He can effectively change the shape of his body."

"So why does he look like this?" Logan asked.

"Something's wrong with his mutation," Jean replied. "His cells are losing their integrity. They're liquifying. He's literally falling apart."

At that, Storm went to Hawk; probably to make sure she wasn't hearing the details.

"Any way to reverse it?" Xavier asked.

Jean shook her head.

At that moment, the senator moaned and opened his eyes. Xavier caught fleeting feelings of fear, panic, and extreme anger. He moved his chair up to a position head-high with Senator Kelly as Jean lowered the bed.

"Senator Kelly, my name is Professor Charles Xavier. This is my school."

Kelly nodded. "For mutants?"

Xavier glanced at Jean, then back at Kelly. "Yes."

Kelly only half-nodded. "I was afraid that if I went to a hospital… I thought they would…"

"Treat you like a mutant?" Xavier said. "We're not what you think," Xavier said kindly. "Not all of us."

"Tell that to the ones who did this to me." Kelly said.

Xavier nodded. Then moved his chair closer and looked directly into the senator's eyes. "I need you to try and relax. I'm not going to hurt you. But I need to find out best as I can to figure out what happened to you, to see if we can help you."

Kelly nodded and took as deep of a breath as he could. Xavier looked into the man's eyes, then put a hand on Kelly's wet forehead, letting Kelly's thoughts pour out and into his own mind.

The memories were jumbled, like flashes of light. Xavier was used to it. It was the same with most people. Memories weren't clear, streamlike movies. depicting logical sequences of events, but were more like flashbulb images of scenes hooked together, often not even in the right order. And they were always colored in heavily in perceptions and feelings.

_Flash:_

_His aide turning into Mystique, her blue face and yellow eyes clear, like the image of a pain of when she kicked him colored the memory in red._

Thus, Magneto had captured the senator, Mystique had done it.

_Flash:_

_Vision fading in and out of pained awakening as Magneto moved into the circle of light, illuminating of what appeared to be a clearing in a type of cliff-surrounded forest._

Kelly clearly had no idea where he was. And Xavier didn't recognize it either, from anywhere in Magneto's past.

_Flash:_

_Kelly sitting on a chair near a massive machine, fighting to get loose._

_Flash:_

_Magneto rising up inside the machine. He is laughing down at Kelly, toying with him._

Xavier could feel the hatred for Magneto flowing from Kelly. Hatred like nothing that he had ever felt before.

_Flash:_

_The light, alive, is crawling over him, through him, inside him._

_Flash:_

_Flash:_

_Flash:_

_Extreme bright light and pain, then nothing._

_Flash:_

_Kelly dropping through the air, into the ocean._

X

Hawk stood next to Storm, as far from the Senator as possible. Her head started to throb as Professor X went into Kelly's mind. She grimaced in pain.

Storm noticed and turned to her. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Hawk nodded. "Just a headache."

Storm gave her a concerned look, but didn't press. Hawk figured that she knew that her telepathy was starting to get to her again. An untrained telepath like her was prone to stray actions with telepathy from others, and stray thoughts and other things like that.

The Professor snapped his eyes open.

X

Xavier pulled himself out of the Senator's mind as the images began to repeat. He really didn't want or need to see them again.

Or feel that kind of hate again. Once was more than enough to disgust him completely.

Xavier wiped his hands and took a deep breath. It was clear that his old friend was no longer the person that he had once known.

"Well?" Logan asked as Xavier opened his eyes and wiped his hands again, as if doing that was going to clean away any of the filth he got from the senator's mind. He felt as if he'd touched something really dirty.

He had. The senator was a walking, talking ball of hate and self-loathing, with more disgusting habits and deeds buried in his mind than would be found in a war this man would be no great loss to the world in general.

He was surprised to feel that way.

"Professor?" Jean asked stepping towards him. "Are you all right?"

He nodded. He was going to be all right as soon as some of the memories went away. "Not here. In my office."

The senator's head lolled to the side, and his eyes closed.

Jean quickly checked him. "He's just sleeping, at least, for the moment."

Xavier nodded, then turned his chair toward the door. "Someone needs to stay with him."

"I will," Storm said.

Xavier could hear Cyclops, Logan, Jean, and Hawk following him.

"Call me if something changes," Jean said.

"I don't think anything will," Xavier said. "At least not for the better."

He meant that in more ways than one.

"Hawk, you need to go to bed, and try to get some sleep."

Hawk scowled, and he could hear her grumbling in her thoughts about how she never had any fun when it came to stuff like this.


	14. Chapter 12

"The machine emits radiation that triggers mutation in ordinary human beings," Xavier said. Logan rolled his eyes but said nothing. _Yeah, I think we get that._

"What exactly is his mutation?" Scott asked. Again.

"He's extremely adaptable," Jean said, opting for a longer description since Goggles didn't get it the first or second time. "He can effectively change the shape of his body. But the mutation is unnatural and Kelly's body is rejecting it. His cells began to break down almost immediately. He's literally falling apart."

Again, Logan said nothing. He felt like they were reliving the dialog just for the hell of it. Scott frowned thoughtfully, in full leader mode. "What effect does the radiation have on mutants?"

_None, _Logan thought in a huff.

"There appears to be none," Xavier answered. "But I fear it will seriously harm any normal person exposed to it."

Logan sighed – though it sounded a lot like a growl – and leaned against the wall. He wasn't going to get the answers that he wanted unless he spoke up. "So, what does Magneto want with Rogue? Did you get that much?"

Xavier sighed. "I don't know and neither does the senator."

Logan shouted in his mind, hoping that Xavier caught every word. Though the professor seemed just as frustrated as Logan was, Logan had little pity. They had nearly all of the pieces and were still just as clueless as they had been in the beginning. It made Logan wonder how the hell they expected to outwit Magneto.

"Wait a second," Scott said, an underlying excitement in his tone. "You said this machine draws its power from Magneto, right? And that it weakened him?"

_Now we're getting somewhere…_

"Yes," Xavier said slowly. "In fact, it nearly killed him."

Logan felt the air around him grow cold as they all realized what Xavier was getting at. Magneto was going to use Marie's own power against her. "He's going to transfer his power to Rogue and use her to power his machine."

X

Storm stared at the mirror, dabbing some antiseptic on the scratches on her neck. She was going to be bruised, that was for sure. She was lucky to come out of that fight with only a few scratches, and she knew it. Storm stood by, to watch the senator Kelly's vitals as he lay dying. She didn't know why she volunteered for this. She disliked the senator very much, but there was something that made him vulnerable that made her feel sorry for him. "Is someone there?" she heard him call out.

"Yes," she said walking over to him. "I'm here." As she walked over to the table, he grabbed her left arm.

"Please don't leave me," he pleaded. "I don't want to be alone."

"Alright," Storm said. She looked over the dying man and saw that there was water coming _out_ of his body.

"Do you hate normal people?" the senator asked, bringing Storm out of her thoughts.

"Sometimes," she replied carefully.

"Why?"

"I suppose..." she hesitated; she'd never told _anyone_ this before. Not even her best friend Jean Grey. "I'm afraid of them."

"Well..." Kelly said slowly. "I think you've got one less... person to... to be afraid of."

Storm didn't understand, at first what he meant. But, as the senator started to make a gurgling sound, water started to squirt out from his body. She gasped and jerked her arm away as water started to squirt from his arm. Her jerking motion caused the arm to explode like a water balloon. Senator Kelly's body turned into a large heap of water right before her eyes, and then rushed over the edges. Storm bolted out of the room, terrified at what she'd just seen. She ran as far away from the infirmary as possible until she reached the Professor's door. She quickly composed herself and opened the door. "Hey," she heard Logan say. Obviously she'd arrived just in time. "Why don't you take your mission and-"

X

"Cyclops," Xavier said hurriedly. "You and Storm ready the jet. I'm going to find Rogue. Jean, get Logan a uniform."

Logan froze momentarily while putting on his jacket, but shook off his mild shock. He'd be damned if they were going to put him in one of those jumpsuits, and it seemed that Scott was thinking the same thing.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Scott stood quickly and tried to hide his initial indignation, but Logan – and everyone else, he was sure – wasn't buying it. "He's not coming with us, is he?"

"Yes," Xavier said shortly.

When he offered no further explanation, Scott continued. "I'm sorry, professor, but he'll endanger the mission and my team."

"Hey, I wasn't the one who gave the train station a new sunroof, pal," Logan snapped defensively.

Though Scott's eyes were hidden behind his glasses, it was clear from the rest of his face that he was livid. "No, you were the one who stabbed Rogue through the chest."

Jean huffed. "Scott…"

The reminder burned Logan's heart, and he barely held back a vicious growl. "So, why don't you take your little mission and stick it up your – "

Suddenly, there was a cry as something fell down and landed with a thud. Logan didn't have to guess. "JEAN!"

"Hawk, what are you doing down here?" Scott demanded. "You're supposed to be in bed."

"I can't sleep," Hawk retorted. "I was wondering what was going on, and, by the way, Storm's going to be here in five... four... three... two..." she pointed at the door as it opened.

At that instant, Storm came in through the door looking shaken. More shaken than Logan had yet ever seen her. She was wiping her hands on a towel over and over. "Senator Kelly is dead," she said. "He melted, it was not a pleasant thing to watch." She wiped her hands again. Everyone could tell that she was in shock over what she had seen.

Jean glared at Hawk, and Logan could only guess that she had probably watched from the air vents.

All eyes turned back to Xavier, and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"I'm going to find her," the professor repeated. Scott and Logan turned back to each other, ready for another face off. Xavier gave an aggravated sigh. "Settle this," he snapped, wheeling towards the door. "People's lives are at stake. Rogue's life is at stake! And make it fast. I want you _all_ ready to leave by the time I get out of Cerebro. That's an order!"


	15. Chapter 13

The X-Men hovered over their teacher, watching his vitals like hawks for any signs of stabilization. Hanging in the back to allow the three a private moment with their professor, Logan leaned against a counter, far from the group. He felt terribly about the whole situation, and as much as he wanted Xavier to be okay, he still couldn't get Marie out of his mind.

While there was a very good chance that Xavier would pull out of whatever was going on with him, Marie was sure to die if they did nothing. He wanted to leave. He needed to help her – he'd made her a promise – but whenever he made up his mind to walk out the door and keep going, Ororo's words tauntingly echoed in his mind.

"_He'll get whatever information is necessary before you will. I guarantee it."_

Every time he heard it, Logan felt his lip curled up in a silent snarl. He hated to admit it, but she had a point. Despite everything that Logan had learned through the night, he still had no idea where he might find Magneto. He'd be flying blind if he went out and tried to find Marie. Yet, if he stayed here and did nothing, he'd feel like he was abandoning her.

"What can we do now," Ororo asked quietly to no one in particular. Logan allowed himself a quick glance in her direction. She was tired, frustrated, sad, and the look in her eyes suggested that if the answer to her question was negative, she didn't want to hear it. Logan couldn't have agreed more.

Jean checked the monitor for what must have been the hundredth time and gave a frustrated sigh. "We just have to wait."

"Brilliant," Logan growled, pushing himself off of the counter and leaving the room. He couldn't stay here and do absolutely nothing or he'd lose his mind.

Passing Scott on his way to the door, he saw that the leader seemed to be the most shaken by Xavier's condition. He'd said absolutely nothing since the old man had been brought into the medical wing, and hadn't moved an inch since they'd begun watching his vitals. He was paler than usual, and his pulse was very slow, as though he were willing it not to get over-excited. Logan knew better; Scott was afraid.

It wasn't Logan's fault, but felt that he ought to saw something nonetheless. "I'm sorry," Logan said before walking out the door.

X

As Storm walked out of the room, she heard someone crying close by. She looked up to where the sound was coming from. The air vents. She stood on her tip toes to peek inside and saw Hawk in there. "Hawk?" Hawk looked up. "What are you doing in there?"

"Does it matter? It's my fault anyway."

"What are you talking about?"

Hawk looked away from her.

"Hawk, come down here."

Hawk did, and Storm knelt down to her level. "Talk to me. What's your fault?"

"It's my fault Xavier's like that," Hawk cried. "I _saw_ someone sabotaging Cerebro."

"When?"

"...before-before I raced to the train station."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Storm asked gently.

"Because I knew someone was going to get hurt the more time I wasted. I forgot all about it until now." Hawk started to cry again and Storm hugged her, shushing her soothingly.

X

Logan found Storm waiting outside the infirmary. She was sitting on the floor, just waiting. Even though she looked tired and probably was. "I thought Jean told you to get some rest?" he said, coming to sit down next to her. Storm looked at him, then looked away again. "I thought she told you the same," she countered.

Logan nodded and sat down next to her. "What's keeping you up?"

"Hawk, and a few other things; but, mainly her."

"Oh?"

Storm smiled. "She's a handful, but she's still a good kid."

_Like Rogue, _Logan thought. "How did she come here?"

"Charles found her and her sister a while back. Crystal was killed by Sabretooth not too long afterward. We found Hawk on the street right after his attack. Before she was on the streets, though, she was in an abusive orphanage. She still had the bruises from the beatings they gave her when we found her."

"What?"

Storm nodded. "After that though, she grew an attachment to me. My guess it was because of our similar backgrounds. She's sort of been like a little sister. Annoying at times, but still fun to hang out with.

"Charles has been like a father to both of us- although you won't get Hawk to admit it- and I intend to show that same courtesy to her and the others."

She sighed and leaned back against the wall. "It's just difficult sometimes."

Logan nodded.

"Especially now that she blames herself for what's going on-"

"Why is that?"

"Hawk says she knew that Cerebro was sabotaged."

"What?"

"I don't know if she really did or not, but Hawk doesn't usually lie about something as serious as this. Forgetting it, well, she forgets a lot of things."

"She didn't tell anyone?"

"By the time she saw Mystique- that's who she described- she realized that the train station was a trap had decided that she could tell the Professor later. But, with everything that's been going on, she completely forgot about it. I wouldn't talk to her about it though," Storm added, there was a note of warning in her voice, "she's upset enough as it is."

Logan nodded again. After a couple of hours, Storm leaned against his shoulder, and he doubted she knew she was doing it. But he let her anyway. It had been a stressful day for her- and not to mention, she probably was still angry about getting strangled. Jean came by then and went back to check on the Professor.

X

He'd never had to deal with so many emotions in all the fifteen years he could remember. His fear for Marie, his anger with Ororo, his frustration with the professor, and his sympathy for Scott… Logan was tired, and it seemed like having a quiet moment alone was now within his reach.

He hadn't made it halfway down the hall before he heard someone following him. _Please be Jean. Please be Jean. Please be Jean…_

"I know you hear me following you, Logan."

He turned to face the white haired beauty but didn't challenge her. He was done fighting with her for the day. "What the hell do you want now?" he asked dully.

She met his lackluster gaze without hostility of any kind, surprisingly. She looked tired and anxious as well, but by no means defeated. "I'm going to scan the news and online reports for any unusual activity that might yield any leads. You seemed to be a little restless, so I was wondering if you wanted to do something productive…"

Logan had stopped listening. He was thankful for the distraction. Much more thankful than he should have been, but he wasn't ready to admit that to Ororo quite yet. "Where?"

"Follow me."

She'd led him to a computer room that looked hi-tech enough to be in a spy movie. Though he didn't really know what he was looking for, Logan hopped onto a computer and fell into a pattern of flipping through different live news stations for any abnormalities. Every single channel was broadcasting the U.N. Summit, and Logan doubted that this event would take second place to anything that Magneto was planning.

Logan briefly wondered if the Summit was where Magneto planned to strike, but swiftly dismissed the idea. Xavier, Scott, Jean and Ororo – geniuses that they were – had probably already gone over that idea a hundred times. If there was any threat of that happening then surely Xavier would have seen it coming regardless of Magneto's metal helmet. It was just too obvious.

All in all, about three hours of searching yielded a whole lot of nothing, although he'd hibernated a little and felt much more refreshed. Several times he'd said that he'd call it a night but Ororo's optimism was contagious, and Logan found that he didn't want to give up so easily. She'd completely put aside the ugly exchange of words that they'd had and didn't let it affect how she worked together with Logan. He was happy to contribute in some manner other than simply waiting, as Jean had suggested, and was proud of Ororo for not letting something like their argument get in the way of work. He knew that he wasn't free and clear for some of the things he'd said to her, but right now finding Magneto was everyone's top priority.

But it seemed, at the moment, that only Logan and Ororo cared anything about finding Magneto, as he hadn't seen Jean or Scott since he'd left the medical wing. Admittedly, someone had to watch the professor, but it sure as hell wasn't a two person job. So where the hell was the high-and-mighty Scott Summers?

"Alright," he said finally. "If 'everyone' includes me, lead the way."

He followed her around the corner to what she had called the briefing room. Jean and Scott were already waiting for them, standing near a large flat table with controls everywhere. Scott pressed a button and a very detailed holographic image of New York City, Ellis Island and Liberty Island appeared before their eyes. It seemed that they were never in want of the latest technology.


	16. Chapter 14

Hawk crawled through the air vents until she located the map room. She'd never been in here before, and she made a mental note of where everyone was. Jean was still a little weak to cast her telepathy around, so that meant that Hawk was going to get away with it this time.

X

"Jean knows where he's going," Scott began. "Magneto is here; Liberty Island. Now, presumably, his objective is to mutate the world leaders at the U.N. Summit on Ellis Island with his machine."

The hologram shifted to show them a larger scale of Ellis and Liberty Islands. Logan frowned. It took all this bullshitting to figure that out? He shook his head, telling himself that it couldn't be helped now.

"He doesn't know that his machine kills," Storm put in gravely. "And, judging from what the professor saw, if Magneto gave Rogue enough power…"

"He could wipe out everyone in New York City," Jean finished.

Brief silence met that statement, as it sunk in. "All right," Scott began again. "We can insert here, at the George Washington Bridge, and come around the bank just off of Manhattan, we land on the far side of Liberty Island; here."

The hologram shifted to show his strategy. It seemed like a good plan, but Logan felt rather out of the loop, as they were all old pros and knew all of the ins and outs. He had to say something so that he wouldn't feel entirely useless. "What about harbor patrol?" he tried. "Radar? Do you really think that they'll let us waltz right through?"

Scott gave him a cocky smirk. As much as Logan hated to admit it, it wasn't too different from looking in a mirror. "If they have anything that can pick up our jet, they deserve to catch us."

Logan raised a brow indifferently. Perhaps all this planning jazz wasn't his strength, but when it came time to use muscle, Logan would be the one they'd all turn to. He could live with that. "Good enough for me."

"Ten minutes, everyone."

Everyone moved out of the room, but Scott stopped Logan at the door. "Hold on a second, Logan. Look, despite whatever little tiff you and Storm had a few hours ago, she seems to trust your judgment. I'm going to need a little more than intuition, as I don't quite trust you yet."

"I'd hardly call what happened between Storm and I a tiff."

"We work as a team," Scott continued, ignoring Logan's statement. "Every one of us. Are you going to have a problem taking orders?"

Logan looked Scott up and down. Both men knew that Logan was stronger and faster, yet Scott hadn't once flinched under Logan's threatening gaze. His heart remained calm and steady, and there wasn't the lightest scent of fear radiating off of him. Scott wasn't afraid to lead, and they'd all need that. _Even me, _he grudgingly admitted.

"Give me an order worth following and I don't foresee there being any problems."

Jean had no trouble finding a suit that, strangely, fit Logan like a glove. Being used to wearing loose fitting cotton or denim, the skin tight leather uniform was not Logan's cup of tea at all. He'd struggled to get into it for a few minutes before Jean had finally decided to step in and help him. He expected that she'd poke fun at him sooner or later, so Logan figured that he might as well get a laugh at his own expense too. "So nice of you to help me get this thing on."

She lifted an eyebrow, but he didn't care that she knew that he was playing off his embarrassment. "I'm sure it'll be just as hard to get it off," he continued. "So, later this evening, I guess I'll need help getting out of it. Your suit must be difficult to get out of too…"

She looked him up and down. "I'm sure I saw everything there was to see during your exam," she said with a smirk.

"You don't want a second look?"

"It'd be the fourth look, to be accurate. And I have to say, I wasn't so keen on the second."

Logan frowned. "I'm not that repulsive, am I?"

Jean sighed and gave him a slightly more serious look. "I didn't say that. Don't get me wrong, Logan, you're a…" She seemed to be choosing her words carefully. "You're a cool guy and everything, but I'm engaged to Scott, if you haven't noticed. And I think you have noticed. So I have to wonder; do you insist on flirting with me because you love a good challenge or because you like flirting with someone who isn't quite as violent? I can understand you not wanting to be electrocuted…"

Logan frowned, unsure of how he ought to reply to that. He didn't have to be psychic to know exactly who she was referring to. "You, uh… I never… She wants to electrocute me?"

"It crossed her mind," Jean said with a shrug. "She wouldn't, though. I know her. She's just a little annoyed because she's having trouble figuring you out. Her dark side is reserved for wrong-doers."

"I never would have guessed that she had a dark side," he said sarcastically, rubbing his bicep absently. Had he been human or even a mutant without his healing factor, there was a good possibility that she could have bruised him.

Jean laughed and lifted a brow at him. "You don't honestly believe that, do you? Everyone has a dark side, Logan. You should know that."

His mouth twisted in a sour frown. "Yeah, thanks."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do. But, come on. Do _you_ honestly expect me to believe that you have a dark side."

Her smile widened and she stepped in front of him, zipping up his uniform briskly. "Stick around long enough and you might get to see me throw a temper tantrum."

"Epic."

"It will be."

"Can't wait." Logan returned the smirk with a devilish grin of his own.

"We're out," Scott shouted from the hanger. Jean dipped out of the changing room without a backward glance and Logan followed her all the way onto the _Blackbird_. Like the computer room he'd been in only fifteen minutes before, the inside looked like something out of a hi-tech spy movie. He nodded, truly impressed as he settled into the seat behind Ororo.


	17. Chapter 15

He tried to ignore the discomfort of the sticky leather uniform he was wearing, but the more he moved, the tighter and hotter it seemed to get. He tried flexing his chest to expand the leather, unzipping and rezipping, twisting and turning, but the discomfort only got worse. He looked around at his temporary teammates, and though he couldn't see the looks on Scott and Ororo's faces, they all seemed perfectly comfortable in their suits. Maybe he just had to break it in?

Or maybe Jean had given him a bad one on purpose at Scott's request. Glancing at Jean and seeing a poorly concealed smile, the idea didn't seem too impossible. "You actually go outside in these things?" he asked no one in particular, glaring at his gloved hands.

Flipping and clicking different buttons and switches to start the jet, Scott boredly said, "Well, what would you prefer? Yellow spandex?"

Unsure of how to respond to that, Logan stayed silent, raising a brow in Jean's direction. She gave him a cute smile, but Logan forgot about it completely when the jet began lifting off of the ground. "Whoa!" He hadn't been in the air in fifteen years, and didn't know if he'd ever been in an aircraft before that. The ride was smooth for the most part, but it only took a few moments for him to realize that he _really_ didn't like being in the air. Still, they were all sure to comment if he expressed his dislike of flying. He'd keep his mind occupied and hopefully they'd be none the wiser by the time they landed.

He popped his claws out of his knuckles and examined them as though he were seeing them for the first time. He remembered back to only a few short days ago when he'd first met Marie in the bar; he'd rubbed his knuckles after his scuffle with the drunken loser and thought that perhaps if he'd used his claws more often then it wouldn't hurt quite as much to push them out. This theory had proved to be somewhat true, as he hardly noticed anymore. Rather than the sensation of being stabbed, he only felt a sharp pinch, like being stuck with a needle.

"Not so good with heights?" Jean whispered, low enough that only Logan could hear.

"Okay, there's the bridge." Logan let out a breath that he'd been holding in for longer than he could remember. Scott was his favorite person. "I'm taking her down." He lowered the _Blackbird_ to about fifteen feet above the water and Logan felt his bones rattle. He bit his tongue to keep from crying out in alarm but showed no other indication of his inner terror.

"Storm," Scott said smoothly, "some cover please."

"You got it."

Logan watched the back of Ororo's head, and felt her pulse become a little slower, though still faster than normal. Focusing on the sky alone and not on how far above the ground they may be, Logan watched with fascination as a thick cloud of fog grew rapidly, hiding the jet from sight in a matter of seconds. They also couldn't see a damn thing in front of them, and Logan gripped the armrest until his knuckles where white. Scott hit a few buttons and soon they could see as clear as day through some kind of infrared visor over the windshield.

Logan relaxed fractionally. "Amazing stuff," he said appreciatively, careful to keep the tension from his voice.

"Highly advanced version of infrared night vision," Ororo said proudly, though her voice excitement sounded a bit forced. "Makes darkness a thing of the past."


	18. Chapter 16

They reached their destination without hiccup and Scott roughly landed the aircraft, causing Logan's heart to stop. He tasted blood in his mouth from nearly biting his tongue in half and he'd gripped the armrests so tightly that they'd been crushed beneath his fingers. Jean gave him a reassuring look, but it still took Logan a moment to recover.

"Sorry," Scott said flatly.

Logan glared at the back of Scott's head. The former favoritism he'd felt for the pilot was gone completely. "You call that a landing? You could warn a guy before you make a move like that."

Scott smirked and looked back at Logan. "Not a good flyer, huh?" he taunted.

"I can't remember," Logan sneered back as he unstrapped himself, desperate to get out of the jet.

Shaking his head, Scott opened the overhead hatch and climbed out of the jet with Logan close behind. He leaped the long distance to solid ground and refused to look at the faces of the three others as they climbed out of the jet calmly. Scott and Jean's muffled snickers were enough to make him want to throw something heavy at them, but Ororo's small sigh of relief made him feel better about his own irrational fear.

Scott quickly secured the jet to the base of the island using special cords and led the way up to the platform that the Statue of Liberty rested on. The fog was still thick and the air was biting cold, but Ororo didn't seem to mind and Scott and Jean were hiding their shivers well. In the back of his mind, Logan wondered if the fog would turn out to be more conspicuous than the _Blackbird_ alone would have been, but it didn't entirely matter. Magneto had been a step ahead of them thus far, so surely he knew to expect them any minute now.

They stopped at the base of the statue and looked up. Logan's sharp eyes caught what didn't belong; an object that looked like a grenade underneath Lady Liberty's torch. Ororo, Jean, and Scott seemed to have followed his gaze.

"Well, look at that," Jean said softly.

"Clever," Ororo agreed. "The base of the torch."

"It looks like we'll have to go up through the inside of the building if we want to get to that machine," Scott proclaimed.

Logan rolled his eyes. _No shit, Sherlock,_ was his first thought, but Scott was the leader, and Logan had more or less promised to behave while on this mission. At the moment, it wasn't really worth it to comment, especially when his traitorous heart skipped a beat at the thought of falling from such a height.

_But it'll be okay, _he thought as he followed the X-Men into the building. _I won't fall. I'll be in the air, this time. I'll be in a solid building on solid ground, not in the air with a half ass pilot who likes to crash land the aircraft in the water!_

He walked through the metal detector and was so deep in thought that he didn't even start when it wailed loudly at him. The other's however, turned back to him with worried expressions. Unable to think of any other solution, Logan popped his claws out of his hand and stabbed the alarm, squinting as the sparks flew at his face. Scott frowned at him, as though to suggest that Logan was already endangering the mission. In response, Logan gave Scott the middle claw.

Scott smirked back and nodded appreciatively at Logan's creativity, while Jean rolled her eyes and Ororo just stared at him. Logan retracted his middle claw and exhaled. Women didn't understand good humor…

They continued, but Logan began to feel ill at ease in a matter of seconds. Now that his mind was clear, he got the distinct feeling that someone was watching them or knew where they were. How else would they have gotten this far without incident? Perhaps Magneto had expected them to arrive sooner or later, which meant that one of the many henchmen that he'd heard about had to be nearby. Focusing on the scents around him, Logan inhaled deeply. Dust, Windex, Jean's gingerbread, Scott's burning wood, floor cleaner, Ororo's rainforest – Logan allowed himself to linger on that scent a moment longer than necessary before returning to the task at hand – and then he caught it. The scent that didn't belong, the scent of a mutant; blueberry.

"There's someone here."

"Where?" Scott asked.

"I don't know." Despite the seriousness of the situation, Logan couldn't resist. "Keep your eye open."

He walked ahead, ignoring the annoyed, "Logan," that followed him around the corner. He was sure that someone was here watching them. It'd be much easier to find out where if Ororo's scent wasn't so overpowering, but Logan was at least grateful that it wasn't as powerful as it had been when they'd first met. Were that the case, all Logan would have to rely on was his hunch that he was being watched, and he knew that that much wouldn't convince Scott. Rounding the corner, Logan inhaled the fresh air that Ororo had yet to taint and pushed his already heightened senses to pick up any and everything in the room.

Scott whispered "Damn it."

Jean's hair brushed across the leather of her uniform.

Storm's cape rustled as she shifted her stance.

All of them had steady breathing and pulses, and then he found it. A pulse that was a little faster than the others. Perhaps excited by the hunt? _Big mistake_, Logan thought as he tried to pinpoint its location. Wherever it was, it was nearby. _Very_ nearby.

"Anything?" Scott asked.

Before he could hush Scott, he heard his own voice answer the leader. "I know there's someone here. I just can't _see_ them."

_Bingo._ Logan sprinted the short distance to the X-Men and saw who it was that had spoken. It was him, or rather someone that looked and sounded like him. But, getting closer, he smelled the familiar blueberry scent on the impostor. He reached his double just in time to push him out of reach of Scott, who'd nearly been stabbed in the back. Logan tackled him and they rolled a good ten feet before the other slammed Logan into a brick wall in a side room, blowing him a kiss with a wicked grin.

Logan shoved him back just far enough to get his leg up and kick the imitator back. His claws jumped out of his knuckles and the other copied his threatening stance.

Scott looked between them, unsure of who to shoot. Logan threw out his arm, shouting, "Wait!" The impostor did and said the same thing at exactly the same time before cutting a rope of some kind, sealing the two of them away from Scott, Jean and Ororo. It was one on one now. Logan braced himself.

"Damn, damn, damn," Logan said, chasing after his double. After the door had sealed the two away from the other X-Men, the look alike had sliced at some electrical wires, killing the lights. A feminine, high pitched peel of laughter tore from its throat as it ran away, with Logan in pursuit.


	19. Chapter 17

Hawk watched as Toad did a twirl with a crowbar, and briefly wondered if he was a Star Wars fan, but then remembered what he had just did to Storm. "Dude, you're dead!" She jumped down from where she was and turned to face him. He just twirled the crowbar again. "Nice trick," she said before shifting into Mara Jade, taking her lightsaber and igniting it.

Toad swung the crowbar at her, but she retaliated with counters and blocks. Toad knocked her back with a kick to the gut as she cut the crowbar with the lightsaber. The kick knocked the wind out of her, and she shifted back to normal as she lost her concentration. "Cute," she said, getting up. Toad was on the railing, getting ready to jump on Jean and Scott below.

Suddenly, the dinged and the doors started to shake. "Now you've done it," Hawk said as she headed for the double-doors at the far end.

"Where do you think you're going?" Toad asked, grabbing her with his tongue. Hawk gave him a _very _light first degree burn.

"I'm outta here, and if you're smart, you should be to."

As she hid next to the double doors, the elevator doors opened, and with a flash of lightning, Storm appeared, being held aloft by her own winds. She did _not _look happy. Which was an understatement. She looked furious. Tiny flickers of lightning was coming out of her already glowing white eyes, and lightning was coming out of her hair.

Storm floated on to the floor and strode forward. Her expression spoke volumes, and Hawk picked up Toad's thoughts as he wondered if he should try to find an escape route.

_Duh! _Hawk thought, shocked at his stupidity to stick around and fight. She had always known that there was a reason why she never pushed Storm too far, despite the fact she liked to push her limits. This was why; she had never seen Storm look so angry before.

X

Any other time, he might have found such a fight exciting. It was dangerous, fun, and it was a woman, if the laugh was any indication. But the gravity of the situation made it quite a bit less enjoyable, and Logan already knew that this mutant – whatever it was – wouldn't go down easily.

In a blur of movement, the mutant slammed him against a steel wall and pinned him to it with amazing strength. He tried to head butt his double, but it bent its entire body at an impossible angle and Logan's head somehow collided with its boot. It laughed again, this time in his voice, and let Logan go, backing away and doing a back flip. His double kicked him in the face again and Logan felt his skull vibrate painfully.

The mutant landed gracefully and jumped right back into the air, morphing into a woman – slicked back red hair, blue skin, yellow eyes and a devilish grin – as she delivered a roundhouse kick right to Logan's chin. Another graceful landing put her a few feet away from him, just out of reach, but close enough for him to catch her licking her blue lips seductively.

_She must think this is foreplay, _Logan thought, his lip curling up in disgust. He charged at her and she caught his wrists in a flash. She leaned back, kicking him in the face with a bare foot and his head jerked back painfully. Before he could fully recover, she had maneuvered herself behind him by jumping over his right arm and he heard a sickly cracking of what could only be his spine.

He growled in pain and tried to stand up straight but felt a hard kick in his groin, which successfully hunched him over in pain. Logan backed away, and found himself in a corner, staring at the blue woman who still looked like she was having the time of her life. He let out a frustrated snarl and she grabbed a pile of nearby chains that were draped on a pipe. She tried to strike his face with them, but he brought his fist up and the thick chain links easily tangled in his claws. He tangled his other claws in the chain and jerked her closer, trying to throw her across the room.

She simply let go of the chains and did another somersault, landing out of reach on top of a wooden crate and bowing like a performer accepting applause from an enthusiastic audience. She didn't sport a single bead of sweat, as far as Logan could tell. Her heartbeat was faster than was normal, but it was fairly steady considering all of the exercise she'd just done, and she wasn't breathing heavily. Logan, on the other hand, was sweating profusely, panting heavily, his suit was sticking to him like adhesive, his temperature was only rising with his rage, and he was becoming so enraged that he was beginning to see red. He closed his eyes to catch his breath for half a second and when he opened them she was gone.

With a groan he stood up straight and caught his breath, taking advantage of the short break. She couldn't have gone far, and he hoped that she was having too much fun to abandon him. He sniffed the air but could smell nothing but his own sweat. "Dammit."

He'd have to backtrack and find a way out so that he could get some air and cool down before he overheated in this damn suit. He made a mental note to tell Jean that he needed a suit that breathed. Whatever the hell he was wearing at the moment just wasn't practical.

Taking one last breath, he wandered down the endless halls until he finally found his way out of the dark passages and into a display room. He stood perfectly still, breathing in the air around him. He was cooling down and relaxing his temper while he waited for any sign of her. She knew where he was, and he was sure that she'd soon grow impatient of waiting for him to make a move.

And the moment he completed that thought, he heard the rustle of a cape against leather. "Logan?" Ororo said, moving closer. "Is that you?"

Logan inhaled quietly. With his back turned to her, she couldn't see the smirk on his face. _Bingo_. He held his arm out, as though he were trying to concentrate. "Shhh." He heard her continue to advance, but remained still. As long as she thought that he was unaware, he had the upper hand. "The other one ain't far away."

"Come on. We have to regroup."

"I know, but there's a problem." Fast as he could, Logan popped his claws out of his fist and turned around, stabbing the Ororo imitator right in the stomach. A shocked and pained expression crossed her features. Blue eyes clouded over with white and even though Logan was positive that this wasn't Ororo, this expression of pain and terror was so real that he knew it'd be burned in his mind for a long time. Her shocked expression nearly mirrored Marie's when he'd stabbed her, but Logan showed no pity. "You're not a part of the group."

He pulled his claws out and smirked with satisfaction as claws sprang out of the fake Ororo's hands and white eyes became yellow. Groaning and gurgling, she slowly morphed back into her blue form and fell to the ground with tragic grace. Her heart was still beating, but it had slowed considerably.

"No two women smell alike," Logan muttered, stalking off in search of the other X-Men.

He retraced his steps to where he'd first separated with them and pulled the heavy door open with very little effort. Logan heard and smelled Scott and Jean around the corner, but didn't smell Ororo. Slightly worried after what he'd just done to the shape shifter, he approached them without hesitation.

Scott's heartbeat skyrocketed and his hand flew to the switch on his visor, ready to blast him. Knowing that Scott's eyes could punch a hole through a mountain, Logan threw his hands up submissively. "Hey, hey! It's me."

Scott tensed, not convinced. "Prove it."

Logan sighed. What could he say that would make Scott believe that he wasn't the impostor? "You're a dick."

Scott's pulse relaxed and even Jean gave a slight nod, though she rolled her eyes. "Okay," Scott said, lowering his hand. "Now we just need to find Storm."

"Right here."

Logan looked up and swallowed a protective growl that was itching in his throat. Her hair was sticking out in every direction, bruises were forming all over her face, and she had a few shallow cuts that were beginning to bleed. She looked as worn as Logan felt, but she sounded satisfied. Her scent drifted into his lungs and he allowed himself a satisfied smirk. _That's more like it._

"You all right?" Jean asked.

"Better than Toad," Ororo replied with a triumphant smile.

"Much better looking, too," Logan said before he could stop himself.

"You sure know how to make a beat-up woman feel better," Storm said wryly.

"Okay then," Scott said, cutting them off. "Storm took care of Toad. I'm assuming that you took care of Mystique, Logan."

"You know what happens when you assume."

"I'll take that as a yes," he said pointedly. "Two down, and two to go."

"And why do I get the feeling that the next two are going to be the hardest?" Logan grumbled.

Ororo snorted in much the same way Logan would have. "Because you're right."


	20. Chapter 18

From the look of it, they were inside the head of the Statue of Liberty. A hole had been punched through the top, giving them a view of the base of the torch. Logan tried to cock his head to the side, but found that he couldn't. Panicking, he inhaled sharply and a strong, familiar copper smell hit his nose. His pulse all but stopped. They had walked right into a trap.

"Everybody, get out of here," he warned.

"What is it," Ororo asked, her tone laced with worry.

"I can't move." He felt himself lift off the ground turn around before he was flung across the room and flattened against the wall. Various scraps of metal that held Lady Liberty together from the inside began flying around, and one by one the X-Men were pushed and pulled and flattened against the wall, held immobile by the scraps.

Scott and Jean were bound facing each other and unable to turn their heads away from each other. Ororo was bound to the wall a short distance away, her hands and throat tightly wrapped. Logan felt a familiar magnetic pulse that made his hairs stand on end as Magneto floated down through the hole in the ceiling with a victorious smirk.

"Ah! My brothers, welcome." He turned to Logan, who was still unbound although quite unable to move. "And you… let's point those claws of yours in a safer direction."

The metal belts around him groaned under Magneto's influence, and Logan tried to fight his power, using his muscle in an attempt to flex back. It didn't work for long. Magneto soon had Logan's fists pointed directly into his chest. The metal straps held him firmly in place and he swore under his breath. If he tried to extend his claws, he'd stab himself right in the chest. Logan glared at Magneto. _Dammit._

Logan caught the strong smell of wet dog as Sabretooth – the one who had kicked his ass and destroyed his camper only days ago – hopped in, his eyes sweeping the area. Logan also remembered that he'd been the one to bruise Ororo's beautiful throat, and glanced in her direction. She was glaring murderously at Sabretooth. Though she'd never looked so terrifying and powerful, the protective growl he'd been holding in finally slid past his teeth.

"You'd better close your eyes," Magneto warned, now addressing Scott. Sabretooth lumbered over to Scott and roughly removed the visor, tossing it into one of his many coat pockets. Logan's heart stopped, as did Scott's, but it resumed a rapid pulse as Sabretooth moved aside and Logan saw Scott's eyes firmly shut. Jean would be safe as long as Scott kept his eyes shut, and no one cared more for Jean's safety than Scott.

"Storm," Scott said, his voice revealing none of the fear that his heart and scent betrayed. "Fry him."

Logan resisted the urge to snort. "Oh, yes," Magneto agreed, as though he'd read Logan's mind. "By all means. A bolt of lightning into a huge copper conductor…" Magneto made his way over to Scott and Jean, shaking his head condescendingly. "I thought you lived at a school."

He chuckled darkly and moved away, holding his earpiece. "Mystique." Logan knew for a fact that he'd receive no reply, and he smirked. "Mystique."

"I've seen Senator Kelly," Jean blurted.

Magneto abandoned his earpiece and turned to Jean, clearly curious, if only a little. "So the good senator survived his fall? And the swim to shore?" He walked back to stand in front of Scott and Jean. "He's become even more powerful than I could have imagined."

"He's dead," Jean said flatly.

"It's true," Storm put in. Magneto turned his attention to her and advanced. "I saw him die. Like those people down there will die." Sabretooth glanced at him, then back at Magneto and Storm, his lip curling up in a disgusting smile that made Logan want to snarl.

Magneto leaned closer to Ororo, speaking softly. Logan's heartbeat rose higher still and Sabretooth's grin only widened. "Are you really so sure of what you saw?"

"I saw enough to know that innocent lives are at stake."

"Why do none of you understand what I'm trying to do?" he asked, sounding exasperated. "Those people down there, they control our fate and the fate of every other mutant." He backed away from her and resumed his spot at the center of the room, making a show of looking at each of the X-Men. "Well, soon our fate will be theirs."

"Bullshit!" Everyone – except Scott – turned and looked at Logan, whose blood was boiling. Magneto glared at Logan but he didn't flinch under the old man's piercing stare.

"Help!" a desperate voice screamed. "Please help me!" Logan's heart quickened again. It was Marie! "Please, help…"

"You're so full of shit!" Logan snarled again. "One of your people is about to get fried in your machine that doesn't even work. You don't think she's feeling a little persecuted right about now? If you were really so righteous, you'd be the one strapped to that thing." He waited for Magneto to say something. Anything, but it almost seemed like he was considering the right response.

"Help! Somebody help me!"

Unmoved by Marie's screams, Magneto continued to stare at Logan. "And who would lead them then? Charles? Cyclops? Maybe _you?_" He turned around and faced Ororo again. "This is not the time for politics and debate. It's a time for strength. Our people will need leadership and none of you are cut out to lead."

"And you are?" Logan snapped, bringing Magneto's focus back to him. "You're trying to pull mutants to the top by wiping out humans. If I'm remembering my history right, that sounds a lot like the final solution, wouldn't you say?" Magneto's lip curled up as he rose into the air and out of view. Logan had certainly given him something to think about, but that sure as hell wasn't going to save Marie.


	21. Chapter 19

"Please! Anyone! Somebody _please_ help!" Logan could hear the desperation and defeat in her voice and growled. She was in trouble. He had to help her. He'd made her a promise that he had no intention of breaking. Sabretooth was staring right at Logan, whose pulse had skyrocketed. Sweat began forming on his forehead from anticipation. _This is going to hurt…_

Logan let out a roar and pushed his claws out hard. He felt them slice right through him and he gasped in pain as his lungs filled with blood. He felt the copper belts loosen and the claws retracted as he fell. Jean screamed his name and as he fought the blackness trying to consume him, he heard a whisper that prevented him from slipping under.

Logan heard Ororo's plea so clearly that it felt as though she'd said it right in his ear. He focused hard on healing himself as he listened to Sabretooth lumber towards him. He heard the distinct clink of his dog tag around Sabretooth's neck. He kept still despite his anger, vowing to get his dog tag back if he had to kill him for it. Sabretooth grabbed the back of his collar and lifted Logan like a rag doll. Logan's eyes snapped open and he pushed his claws out, stabbing Sabretooth in much the same way he had stabbed Mystique. He roared in pain and Logan smirked. "Glad to see me, eh?"

Sabretooth pulled Logan's fist away from his abdomen. With frightening ease, the beast lifted him off the ground and threw outside through the hole in the roof. Logan fumbled for a second before realizing that he'd fall to his death if he didn't grab something. His heart pounding wildly, Logan grasped desperately at anything until he caught a spike of the statue's crown and held on rigidly as he glanced down.

Sabretooth grabbed his ankle and dragged him away from the edge before Logan could faint. He was so thankful for being pulled away from his potential death that he waited until they were near the center before twisting around and kicking Sabretooth in the face, sending him staggering back a few steps. Angered, the beast grabbed Logan as he tried to get to his feet and threw him a short distance to the top of the statues head. Trying to copy one of Mystique's somersaults, Logan rolled and landed on his feet, pushing his claws out of his knuckles in full fighting stance, ready for Sabretooth.

Fighting Sabretooth wasn't at all the same as fighting Mystique. While Logan had had to rely on speed to try to hit Mystique at all, now Logan had to rely on speed to avoid being hit by Sabretooth. And strength didn't seem to be a factor at all. While Logan manages to get in a few solid punches, Sabretooth didn't seem to feel his blows. They just annoyed him.


	22. Chapter 20

Logan might have been more focused if they'd been fighting inside, but the back of his mind kept reminding him that a few short feet away was a hundred foot drop. As a result, his steps were more careful to prevent slipping, his hits were more controlled to avoid falling over and he was unable to focus on simply kicking Sabretooth's ass.

He lunged for Sabretooth, but the animal sidestepped and punched Logan hard, sending him into a back flip and landing roughly on the surface. Logan jumped to his feet and was able to stab him again, but Sabretooth only roared angrily and hit Logan again, sending him back.

Logan managed to kick him in the gut, bending him over to catch his breath. A flash of metal caught Logan's eye and he growled. "This is mine," he growled, using his claws to rip his dog tag from Sabretooth's throat. At the same time, he picked Scott's visor out of Sabretooth's pocket and shoved it up his sleeve.

The mutant grabbed Logan's throat and lifted him off the ground. Logan sputtered, trying to breath despite his windpipe being crushed. His heart began to pump out of control as Sabretooth lifted him over his head and threw him.

Logan cried out in terror, afraid that he wouldn't meet any resistance on his way over the edge. He reached out and thanked the Lord when his claws caught on one of the spikes of the crown. He flew all the way around and somehow managed to land upright and still in a fighting stance on the spike. It was a cool trick, but something he never wanted to do again.

Growling viciously, he pointed both of his claws at Sabretooth and lunged at him. Both of his claws went right into the beast's chest as he tackled the bigger mutant, and Sabretooth roared in anger and pain. Logan quickly scrambled up and was about to deliver the killing blow when a scream stopped his heart. Marie's scream.

Sabretooth took full advantage and threw Logan over the edge again, and Logan cried out again when he looked below him and saw that there was nothing he could grab on to. His heart pounding erratically, Logan drove his fist into the copper dome to halt his descent and howled in pain as he felt his shoulder dislocate. He was about to drive his other fist into the dome, but he felt a pulse spike beneath him and cursed. Someone was on the other side, and he could have impaled them.

Logan glanced down again but quickly focused on looking up, ignoring his hammering heart. He grit his teeth and slowly making his way back to the top with as little puncturing as possible. When he finally made it to the top, he lay flat on his back, breathing heavily and sweating, trying to still his wild heart. Luckily, his fear of falling had made it possible for him to crawl to the top with a dislocated shoulder, though now it was painful enough to make him see stars.

He roughly twisted his arm and popped the ball back into the socket, biting his tongue to keep from crying out. He lay still a while longer, making sure he was fully healed before attempting to confront Sabretooth again. A loud growl hit his ears and he carefully crawled to the edge of the hole, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

X

"Need a little helo?"

All three of the captured X-men turned to see who it was. Storm didn't need to guess. "Hawk, what are you doing here?"

"Hey, Rogue is my friend to. I wasn't about to let you guys get all of the fun."

Storm rolled her eyes. That girl was going to get it when they got back to the mansion. Suddenly, Sabretooth jumped down from the opening above the captured X-men. Hawk dashed back into the shadows where she had been hiding, where Storm was grateful she was staying. He walked menacingly towards Storm. Had no one else been captured with her, she would've gladly shot down a bolt of lightning to fry him. She remained perfectly still as he stopped and stroked her cheek with an extremely sharp claw. "You owe me a scream," he whispered.

"Hey, Kitty-cat! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

Storm turned her head slightly to see Hawk standing behind him with a fireball in either hand. She knew that girl wanted a fight with Sabretooth because of the fact that he had killed her sister. But she was going to get hurt that way. "Hawk don't."

There was a loud thud that distracted her for the moment. "Hold it, Bub," Wolverine said. "I'm not finished with you yet."

Storm let out a breath of relief. "Jean," Wolverine said.

"Scott," Jean said, obviously reading Logan's thoughts. "When I tell you, open your eyes."

"No," Scott replied.

"Trust me."

"You dropped somethin'" Wolverine said, revealing Cyclops' visor. Jean grabbed it telekinetically, and placed it near his eyes.

"Now," Jean whispered.

Cyclops opened his eyes and an optimal ray shot through them, into the visor, and dead on into Sabretooth's chest. Sabretooth went flying out of the Statue. Wolverine went to her first. "Wow," he said, startling her. "He's got you good."

"Just get me out of here, please," Storm replied.

"Okay, okay," Logan replied. "Don't have to get all over me just because Magneto has you in a tighter grip."

Storm rolled her eyes. Wolverine took a closer look. Magneto had wrapped the bar around her body, pinned down both her hands away from her body, and pinned a bar across her neck. "Can you get me down or not?"

"I could easily, but not without harming you mortally."

Storm took a shaky breath. A claw appeared next to her, causing her to jerk her neck back. "Are you really startled _that_ easily?" Logan asked.

"You try having a claw stroked down your cheek and tell me you wouldn't."

"Close your eyes."

Storm didn't argue and closed her eyes tightly.

"Look, Storm, I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Just get me down."

"Logan, just do it," Jean said.

With a few quick swipes, Storm was released. "Thank you," she said relieved.

He listened harder and heard Ororo's heavy breathing. He resisted the urge to jump in and try to cut Sabretooth in half, as that had gotten him nowhere the last time.

"You owe me a scream," Sabretooth said quietly, and a pulse beat wildly out of control. He could only assume that it was Storm's.

"Hey! Kitty-cat!" A new voice called. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

_What the heck? _Logan thought. There was no one else with them... or so he thought there wasn't.

"Hawk, don't," Storm said.

_Hawk!_ Now it all made sense. Everyone had said that she was a trouble maker. Sneaking off into the jet. That explained the extra scent he'd sensed in the jet. He originally thought it was just an old one. Now, he knew it wasn't.

Logan jumped down through the hole and slowly rose to his feet with Scott's visor in hand. He pointed his claws at Sabretooth, baring his teeth. "Hey, bub? I'm not finished with you yet."

Sabretooth smirked but both of them looked away as a bright light caught their attention. The torch above them shattered to reveal a machine that was spinning around Marie. Though it was clear that she was still screaming, the roar of the machine made it impossible to hear.

Logan turned his attention back to Sabretooth. "Jean? You see anything interesting?"

Jean's hurried whispers satisfied Logan. She knew what he wanted her to do. "Scott, when I tell you, open your eyes."

"No," he whispered back, smelling of fear. "I could kill you."

"Trust me!"

Logan knew Scott would do it. He may not trust Logan very much, but Scott sure as hell trusted Jean. "Look what I found," Logan sneered, turning his attention back to Sabretooth. He held up the visor and let his hand drop the moment it became weightless. It was up to Jean now. The visor flew towards them and Jean whispered shakily, "Now!"

Scott opened his eyes and the room light up as a red beam of pure energy hit Sabretooth square in the chest and knocked him through the copper wall to fall to his death.


	23. Chapter 22

Scott closed his eyes quickly and Logan rushed to cut everyone out of the copper belts that were holding them to the wall.

Through his visor, Scott looked down at Logan. "Thanks," he said sincerely.

"Don't mention it," he returned, moving on to Storm. "You okay," he asked without looking at her.

"I'm fine."

"We need to get Rogue out of there," Logan said, looking up at the machine that she was strapped to. "Cyclops, can you hit it?"

Scott grabbed the switch on his visor and aimed. "The rings are moving too fast."

"Just shoot it!" Logan barked.

"I'll kill her," Scott snapped back. He turned to Storm, back in leader mode. "Storm, can you get me up there?"

"I can't control the wind like that. You could fly right over the torch."

He looked at Hawk.

"Hey! Don't look at me. Whatever her restrictions are, they're mine to."

"Then let me go," Logan said before he could stop himself. Scott gave him a look of incredulity. "If I don't make it…" he stopped himself for half a second and steadied his pulse as best he could when the thought of falling _again _entered his mind. "Then at least you can still blast the damn thing." Scott stared at him, possibly weighing the options. "If you have any better ideas, now would be the time," he added.

Scott nodded and turned to Storm. "All right. Do it, Jean, use your power and try to steady him. Hawk, help Storm and Jean out any way you can."

"Alright."

"But that doesn't mean you're out of trouble," Storm warned.

"Darn it!" Hawk muttered.

Logan braced himself as he felt the wind begin to pick up. "Hold on to something," Storm warned.

Logan felt the pressure of the wind around him as Storm tried to focus on him. His heart jumped into his throat the instant his feet left the ground and he turned to Jean, not caring if he looked panicked. She gave him a determined look, one that said '_I won't let you fall._'

And Logan believed her.

He rose higher into the air, and panicked when he began flipping in midair. It didn't feel like Jean was controlling his movements at all! He floated towards the machine and clung to it with a vice grip, lowering his body until the wind died down and he was no longer under their control. He shoved down the terror at how high up he was as he stood and hopped down to the platform. His claws jumped out of his fist and he tried to slice through the spinning machine, but was halted by Magneto. The old mutant was reaching up for Logan, clearly weak but still strong enough to hold him back.

He cursed as Magneto struggled to move his claws away from the machine. He looked helplessly at Marie, who was whimpering as a streak of her hair turned as white as Ororo's. The machine was killing her, but there was still time to save her if only he could resist Magneto.

But Magneto was still the more powerful mutant. He pushed harder against Magneto's power and managed to hit only the tips of his claws on the machine. Not nearly enough to break it. The light hurt his eyes terribly, the noise was deafening, and Marie's screams were growing more terrified every second.

_Now would be a good time, Scott_, Logan thought, ignoring the pain as Magneto tried to pry his claws apart from his body. The next second, a red beam shot up and hit Magneto's back, knocking the old man over and releasing his hold on Logan. Logan drove his fist forward and the machine came apart easily, flying out in every direction and crashing into the water. The white light that had surrounded them disappeared as though it had never been there.

Logan gave a sigh of relief and turned to Marie with a smile that vanished the instant he saw her. "Oh, God, no," he whispered, cutting the bonds that held her to the machine. He held her close, breathing heavily. Her pulse was barely a flutter, and it got weaker with every second that passed.

He touched the lock of white hair. "Come on," he whispered, gently shaking her. She was unconscious, but maybe touching her would work. He hadn't come this far and fought so hard only to fail. She didn't deserve to die like this. He used his teeth to pull his glove off and tossed it carelessly aside. His hand hovered over her face for half a second before he touched her.

Her skin was feverishly hot, but nothing happened. He didn't feel a surge of power, he didn't hear her heart begin to pound rapidly as she stole his power and healed herself, and she didn't open her eyes. He was too late. He bit his lip and tears filled his eyes.

He'd said he would take care of her. He'd promised that he would protect her, and now she was dead because of he hadn't been fast enough. Everything that had led up to this moment was his fault. If he hadn't stabbed her, she wouldn't have run. If she hadn't run, Magneto wouldn't have gotten her. If Magneto hadn't gotten her, he would have used someone else. He hugged her close, breathing in her scent. Since she'd taken Magneto's power, she smelled of peppermint and copper, and both scents were fading as fast as her pulse.


	24. Chapter 23

As he came down the stairs, he caught Marie's peppermint scent and his own scent clung to her as well – fresh grass. She was playing pinball with some of the other kids, and she looked truly happy. Logan smirked and continued to the door. He didn't want to pull her away from her friends for a sappy good-bye, and it wasn't really his style anyhow, so it seemed better to just leave. But no sooner had he made it out the first set of doors than her voice halted him. "Hey!"

He turned to face her and saw that she seemed a little put out. Perhaps she _had_ wanted a sappy good-bye in front of her new friends. Logan knew better than to think that Marie actually had a real thing for him. While part of him had been transferred to Marie, it felt like part of her had also been transferred to him. He knew that she had a slight crush on him, but he knew a phase when he saw one. She did however, have a special affection towards him, but he didn't dare place it under the category of a daughter's love for her father. She was a teenager, and certainly the last thing she wanted was for her friend to be her father figure. He did, however, detect that she saw him as something of a big bad brother. That suited him just fine.

"You running again?" she asked in her heavy southern accent.

"No, not really," Logan replied easily. He adjusted the backpack, feeling even more awkward than he had on the train when talking to her. He must have inherited some of her shyness as well. "I have some things to take care of up north. I shouldn't be too long."

She stared at him expectantly. Though she didn't say thank you, he could see in her eyes that she was grateful. He touched the lock of white hair that fell in her face with a smirk. "I'm thinking of dying all of it white," she said with a shrug. His eyes snapped up to hers and she smirked. "Oh, relax. Actually, I think I'll leave it the way it is. I kind of like it."

Logan tried not to let the fact that she sounded like him shake him visibly. Instead, he smirked. "You don't need to tell me to relax, _princess_."

"I figured you'd hear about that from someone." She blushed, but laughed despite her embarrassment. "I don't want you to go," she said with a sad smile.

Though they both knew that he had to go, he knew what she meant. She didn't want him to leave and not come back. Nodding, he dug through a few of his pockets before remembering that it was around his neck. He took off his dog tag and took her gloved hand, carefully placing the chain in her opened palm. He closed her hand and held on a moment longer before letting go. "I'll be back for this," he said, looking into her eyes. "And your face better be the first one I see when I get back here."

He gave her a smile and turned to leave. "Thanks," he heard her whisper before the doors closed behind him.

The glare of the sun hit him as he stepped outside and he inhaled the fresh air around him, wondering for the first time how the hell he was supposed to get back to Canada. He caught a whiff of chrome and gasoline and turned around with a grin. Perched against the wall, begging to be taken on a _real_ road trip, was Scott's bike.

He hopped on eagerly


End file.
